


The Stubborn, the Headstrong, and the Persistent

by MissDictator



Category: Uncharted (Video Games)
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Idk let's see where this story leads us, Lots of bickering between Sam and Reader, Rating may go up in later chapters, This is kind of an enemies to lovers only they're neighbours
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:41:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 23,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26372860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissDictator/pseuds/MissDictator
Summary: AU where Sam is the CEO of a big marketing company and he also has an 11 years old son. Sam is very busy with work, usually staying in his office late in the afternoon, sometimes even at the evenings, attending meetings and dinners, while he hires nanny after nanny to watch his son, but they all quit after a few days. Will a certain smartass, irritating, insuffarable neighbour be the solution to the problem? Well, as much as he hates it, yes, yes she will.
Relationships: Samuel Drake & Reader, Samuel Drake/Reader
Comments: 17
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

You smiled up to the sky as the spring sunrays hit your face, eyes blocked by your cheap shades you got from a local market on sale. Your light grey sweatpans were a little bit too loose, needing to be readjusted on your hips after every few steps, and your baggy plain white shirt had a small hole at your right hip, thanks to the crazy female husky you were walking on the street in the quiet suburban area. It wasn't the best place but much better than the ghetto your stepmom managed to get you and your step-sisters out from.

Sure, your new house needed repairing, compared to the other ones on the street it was far the worst looking one, especially it was in deep contrast with the one which was across from yours, which belonged to some white middle-aged rich man. He was probably some CEO or some fancy sonofabitch, if his clean and sharp business-clothes and his hybrid Lexus were any indicatiors.

As you neared his house during your walk, you took a disgusted look at it, totally not fueled by jealousy and empty from any envious feelings.

You jumped back and pulled on the leash when you heard a loud car horn go off next to you, and you immediately frowned when you saw the fancy silver car.

"Sure, go ahead and ran over me and my dog!" - you yelled loudly so he can hear it clearly behind his pulled up windows too.

You saw him roll his eyes as his window rolled down and he leaned a little outside.

"I will if you don't watch where you step!"

"Looks like my dog isn't the only one who needs a leash!" - you growled.

"Looks like..." - he commented with an annoyed tone, then he motioned for you to go first with a clearly fake smile.

You made a face and showed him your middle finger, keeping eye contact with him as you walked past his car, and you saw him mouth "classy", then he pulled up to his driveway.

"Fucking asshole." - you said as you continued with your late afternoon walk.

"Annoying harpy." - Sam growled as he got out of his car and looked after you, then he turned to look at the house across from his where he knew you were living.

It wasn't in the best shape, which wasn't a surprise, since it was empty for about two years and its previous owner didn't really took care of it either. The neighbourhood sighed equally in relief when they heard someone was finally moving in, but the hope quickly faded when they saw the family was... Well, let's just say, the members didn't look better than the house itself.

The black middle aged woman seemed nice enough, she greeted the passersby with a friendly smile, and the black little girl and the white one who were both around his son's age looked cute too, but you on the other hand... You and your family moved in about a month ago, and Sam hadn't see you much but when he did, you were either wearing that - what the kids call - resting bitch face or you were zooming out with a weird expression. He wanted to say it looked like a smile, but it was a little bit weirder.

He heard laughter from the house he was watching and soon the screen door opened with a horrible creeking noise, and the black and the white girl both ran out shooting each other with waterguns. He saw as the black woman walked out too, and when she noticed Sam looking she waved.

Sam was spooked at first, he didn't know he was that obvious with his staring, but he waved back, taking one last look at the woman who sat down on a chair which was next to the door on the porch and started reading a book.

Well, a family of four moved in and only one of them was an asshole, that's a good thing right?

He locked his car and walked in his house. He pulled off his dark blue business jacket and loosened his black tie, undoing the first two buttons on his shirt and the ones on his wrists too, then rolled up the sleeves to his elbows.

"Lucas! You still didn't do your homework! Your dad's gonna be angry at the both of us!" - Sam heard as Cindy, the nanny yelled.

He arrived home about an hour sooner than usual, which was really rare, and looks like she didn't hear him open the front door.

"I don't care! I hope he fires you, I hate you anyways!" - he heard his son's reply, making his eyes widen.

"Hey!" - he said loudly as he walked in the livingroom.

"Mr. Drake?"

"Dad?"

Sam looked between the young blonde woman and his son with short brown curls.

"Why did you say you hate her? Apologize!" - Sam said confused, but he was calm.

"No! She's always bossing me around, I don't have a minute to fucking...!"

"Language!" - Sam said, raising his tone.

He just arrived home from a stressful day at work, had an unpleasant encounter with his annoying neighbour, and he has to deal with drama even in his own home.

"I don't care! I spend six hours every day in school learning, I wanna hang out just a little before I'm forced to do the piles of homework! But no! She just yells at me all the time "Lucas do this, Lucas do that!", just like the others! They're not my mom, you're not my mom, so how about you shut up!" - Lucas yelled, his face getting red.

"Lucas! You apologize right now!" - Sam raised his voice even more, taking a few steps closer to him.

"No!" - his son shouted, then ran upstairs, his door slamming shut with a loud bang.

Sam let out a big sigh, then ran a hand through his hair.

"He is like this every minute of every day. I'm sorry Mr. Drake, but I can't do this anymore!" - Cindy said as she walked next to him.

"I'm sorry." - Sam said as he pulled out his purse from his pocket and paid her.

She just nodded and took the money. Sam lead her out and when he was about to close the door, he saw you standing several feet from him on the sidewalk, watching with your shades pulled down to the tip of your nose as the upset nanny stormed to her car and got in, slamming the door.

You looked back at Sam with a wide smile giving him the thumbs up, signaling that you heard everything.

"Oh, get lost!" - he growled annoyed and you burst out laughing.

"Someone already did!" - you said looking towards the nanny, then you turned around with a wave and walked to your home, while the nanny drove off.

Sam looked up to the sky, shighing loudly, then closed the door.

This was far the worst day of his week.


	2. Chapter 2

"You know, you can't be like this with all the nannies, someone has to be here to look after you, while I'm working." - Sam said, sitting on his son's bed next to him.

"I'm big enough."

"No you're not. I don't want you to look at them as a mother figure, I don't hire them to replace her. But it's their job to tell you to do your homework and clean your room."

"I know. Did mom leave because of me?" - Lucas asked suddenly as he looked at his dad.

Lucas knew where her mom was. She was living in France with her new family. Every year on his birthday and on Christmas she sends him a post card and a little gift, lately usually some videogames, but that was the only interaction they had. Up until a few years ago they sometimes talked on the phone, but Lucas knew Sam didn't like that, so he stopped answering. He knew his dad was angry at her for leaving them and Lucas was angry too, but he wanted every chance to get to talk to her. Whenever she called that is. When he was the one calling she rarely picked up, always saying she was busy with her kids. And it made him even more angry. It made him feel like they were more important to her than him. That she loved them more than him. Which was the case, he was just hopeful it wasn't.

But he never knew why her parents split.

Sam sighed and looked at the far end of the room, then shook his head.

"No. Things weren't working between us as they used to. When she told me she was pregnant with you, I worked extra hard to earn more money. I got promoted soon after you were born and I was really happy we could move in this house and buy you everything we wanted. But it wasn't enough for your mom. She was happy I was making so much money, but she wasn't happy that I wasn't home in the meantime. I asked her what she wants more, for me to buy everything you and her wanted or she wants to move in a smaller house with a cheaper car. She remained silent and that was the moment I knew something was wrong. I knew raising a kid is hard, but she didn't have to work, the only thing she had to do was being there for you. When I got home from work, I always played with you, fed you, bathed you, dressed you, so she could have a few hours rest too. But looks like it wasn't enough. When you were 4 she told me she wanted to divorce. I tried to convince her not to because of you, but she said she doesn't love me anymore. It didn't surprise me, I knew that for a long time, but it still hurt when she said it. I convinced the judge to make you stay with me, which wasn't hard, since she didn't have a job."

"I remember, spending some weekends with her."

"Yeah, but not even half a year later she met her now-husband, and after a year she gave birth to your step-brother." - Sam said with a scoff.

"I'm sorry." - Lucas said as he hugged him. He knew it must've hurt to be replaced with another man. He was replaced with another kid after all.

"Me too, kiddo." - Sam hugged him back. - "I wish I was better at balancing work and family. Maybe she would be still here."

"I don't want her here. Not anymore. She left us when we needed her, we don't need people like that in our life."

Sam smiled than he pulled away to look at his son.

"Jesus, when did you get so wise?"

"I probably inherited it from one of my grandparents." - he said with a smirk.

Sam faked offense.

"Way to go to hurt your old man's feelings." - he said making Lucas laugh.

"So... You're gonna look for a new nanny again?"

"Again." - Sam nodded with a sigh. - "Promise you're gonna be nice to her?"

"If she won't act like a mini-Hitler." - Lucas rolled his eyes.

Sam snorted then got up from the bed and pulled out his phone to look around the net for available nannies. It was Friday, so he had two days to find one...

And on Sunday afternoon he started to freak out. Whenever he was speaking on the phone with someone and they heard the name Lucas Drake they hang up. Wow, his son really built up a reputation.

He was pacing back and forth in the livingroom, biting his lip and fidgeting with his phone, trying to come up with a solution, when he heard loud laughter from outside. He opened the front door and saw his new neighbours, the black and the white girls playing with a red ball with white sponts on it, while their step-mother leaned out the window to tell them to be careful.

What if he asks her? She looked nice and she already had two kids, who were both around his son's age.

With that thought, he left his house and crossed the street, but his steps slowed down when he remembered you.

"Jesus, I hope she is not home." - he murmured.

He saw as the two girls stopped playing when they saw him going to their house and he offered them a friendly smile and a small wave, which made them giggle, and Sam's smile widened.

He knocked on the door and soon the black woman opened it with a surprised expression, but she greeted him with a smile.

"Hey, Mr. Drake, right? My name is, Serena Hall, nice to meet you!" - she stuck out her hand, and he shook it with a smile.

"Nice to meet you too. And please call me Sam."

"Okay, Sam, you wanna come in?" - she opened the door wider and stepped aside.

"Sure, why not." - he walked inside and followed her in the kitchen where he smelled some good stuff was cooking.

The kitchen looked a little run down, the green cabinet doors were a little shabby, the fridge looked old too, and the years of cooking made the steam paint the otherwise white walls a little yellowish colour.

"You wanna drink something?" - she pointed to one of the chairs at the wooden table, and Sam sat down with a wobble because the chair was a little unstable. Suddenly the husky he always saw you with ran up to him, sniffling him.

"Pillow! Sit!" - Serena told her firmly and the dog sat down in front of Sam.

"Ugh, a coffee, please." - he said as he awkwardly patted her.

"Coming right up, sir." - Serena's cheery voice made Sam relax a little.

She was extremely friendly, and he wondered how someone like her can adopt someone like you... He had a feeling you were way worse when you were a kid. One of his neighbour's who talked a lot with Serena told him that all three of you were adopted by her, because she can't have children of her own.

"Is her name really Pillow?" - Sam chuckled as the dog laid down and turned on her back in demand to be petted on her stomach, and Sam complied.

Sam smiled again and nodded in thanks as the hot cup of coffee was placed in front of him and he took a good look at Serena as she sat in front of him with a small, content sigh.

She was probably in her early 50's, had long, thick black hair, which she always wore in a bun. She wasn't thin, she was a little more on the chubby side, but she had a pretty face and was wearing very light make up, nails painted in dark blue. She was usually wearing a dress, which reached below her knees and had bright colours and patterns on them.

"Yes, Y/N named her that, because she's extremely snuggly, and she always sleeps in her bed. When she was a puppy she always slept on her pillows so she thought it's a fitting name."

"Seems like it." - Sam petted Pillow one last time before he straightened up in his chair.

"So what do I owe the pleasure?" - Serena asked as she took a sip from her cup, Sam repeating the action.

"I cut straight to the point. I need someone to watch my son, Lucas, while I'm working, and a lot of nannies were here, but none of them seemed to be... capable to do the job right." - Sam tried to use an appropriate word for the situation.

"So I've heard." - Serena replied with a sly smile, making Sam clear his throat nervously.

He should've thought you told your step-mom what you heard, of course you would.

"So, uhm... I saw your girls were around Lucas' age and I thought you could watch him too in the afternoons?"

"When does Lucas come home from school?"

"That's the other thing. He finishes at 14:00 and needs to be picked up."

Serena shook her head.

"I'm working from 8 to 4 and my girls finish at 4 too, that's why I don't need a nanny."

"Oh." - Sam let out a disappointed sigh. - "Well, do you know someone who would be interested in the job?"

Serena looked away, trying to come up with someone, a coworkers' daughter or someone who could be of help, but her thoughts were rudely interrupted when the front door slammed shut and loud cursing echoed through the house.

"That fucking son of a bitch!"

Pillow quickly ran out of the kitchen, probably to you.

"Y/N? What happened?" - Serena stood up and hurried to the front door too.

"You wanna know what happened?! I tell you what happened! That fucking pig touched my ass and asked if I wanted to do "extra hours", so I punched him in the fucking face and now I'm fired!"

"What the fuck?" - Sam whispered with a frown.

"What?! Your boss did that?" - he heard as Serena asked in a shocked tone.

"Yes! Like... He should be happy I didn't cut his dick off, but no he dares to fire me! What the fuck!"

Your voice became louder and Sam knew you were coming in the kitchen, and when you stepped in, your eyes widened then you rolled them.

"Wow, thanks for the heads up, mom."

"Hello to you too." - Sam offered.

"You want us to sue him?" - Serena asked, ignoring your words.

"With what? You have money for a lawyer? I don't have any evidence either, he did it where there weren't any cameras. On the other hand he has a clear evidence of me assaulting him, I think he's nose is still bleeding." - you said as you opened the fridge and drank milk straight from the bottle.

"I asked you a thousand times not to do that." - Serena said with a weak sigh.

"Yeah? What are you gonna do about it?" - you asked back, putting the milk back to the fridge and then you sat down to the table too, Pillow immediately putting her head on your lap. - "Hey, girl." - you caressed her fur with a soft smile, and Sam almost didn't recognise you.

"You okay?" - Sam asked, that was a pretty upsetting and unacceptable thing what your boss did.

"I don't have a job anymore, of course I'm not okay!" - you snapped back, completely ignoring the fact that you were sexually harrassed.

You were used to injustice and being mistreated, so in your book a hand on your ass wasn't a big deal. Not being employed on the other hand... You need money to help Serena pay the house and repair it, and now you need to look for a job as fast as you can.

Suddenly, Serena slammed her palms on the table, making Sam, Pillow and you to jump.

"I just have the best idea!"

"What?" - you asked confused.

Sam's eyes widened when he had a feeling what insane plan had formed in her head.

"Serena, I don't think if that's a good idea..." - Sam argued weakly.

"You." - she pointed to Sam. - "Need a nanny. And you." - she pinted at you. - "Need a job."

"H to the E to the L to another L to the N to the O." - you shook your head in rhythm to each letter.

"Hey! My son's not that bad!" - Sam frowned at you.

"Oh, really? All the nannies were at the verge of crying on the day they quit." - you snorted.

"Oh, so you're afraid that you would be the first one who would actually cry?" - Sam mocked.

"Oh, you wish! Maybe I would make him cry." - you challenged, leaning closer to him over the table.

"Well, I certainly won't pay you to make him cry. Just make him do his homework. But I guess you wouldn't be able to do that either." - Sam crossed his arms with a huff.

"Pff, easy peasy."

"Okay, tomorrow you can pick him up from school at 2pm." - Sam said with finality as he drank the rest of his coffee then stood up.

Serena smiled that you've found a job so fast, but of course no one can have the final word but you, and she rolled her eyes when you stood up too.

"Hey! I didn't say I took the job!"

"Like you have any other choice." - Sam said annoyed.

"I don't even know how much you're willing to pay me."

"All the other nannies got paid 25 dollars per hour."

"Pff, you can shove your 25 bucks up your...!"

"Hey!" - Serena eyed you firmly as she went over to the stove to check on the dinner.

"What? You could earn 500 bucks a week for only watching him for 4 hours."

"Excuse me Mr. I Drive A Hybrid Lexus But I Only Pay 25 For An Hour, but you gotta offer me more than that."

"I absolutely do not have to."

"Like you have any other choice." - you replied with a sly smile.

"No."

"Okay, then, I just look for a full time job." - you said nonchalantly as you pulled out your phone and searched the advertisements.

You know 25 bucks was good money, hell, you got only paid 13 at your current job, but Sam was rich as fuck, you're not gonna let this opportunity go.

"Y/N, Sam is offering you a job, right now. God knows how long it will take for you to get hired in this month."

"I'll take my chances." - you replied sternly, still browsing on your phone.

Sam narrowed his eyes at you.

"How much do you want?"

You looked up at him with a confident expression.

"50."

Serena almost drooped the spoon she was holding, and Sam's jaw dropped.

"Are you kidding me?!"

"No."

"I'm not gonna pay you double, you're not even a professional nanny!" - Sam reasoned.

"Oh yeah, because the professional nannies did wonderfully." - you replied sarcastically.

Well, you had a point there, Sam had to admit, but still.

"You're crazy." - Sam lifted his eyebrows and pointed a finger at you.

"You're not the first one who say that." - Serena commented as she was stirring the food, and you narrowed your eyes at her.

"And you're rich." - you said to Sam. - "I'm not stupid, what I ask may be a lot, but it's nothing to you. You either pay me 50 dollars per hour, or you can leave." - you said seriously.

Sam was remained silent for a few minutes. Nobody talked back to him like you did, he was the CEO of the company, people either nodded when he told them to do something or they respectfully offered their piece of advice, but they never dared to talk to him like you did. And you did it so effortlessly too, like you didn't care who he was; you were not impressed by his sharp business dress, his posh car and ridiculously overpriced house, moreover, it looked like you straight-out despised him.

If he was in any other situation, he would've just laugh and leave, but it was Sunday afternoon and he needed a nanny who can pick his son up and watch him tomorrow. He had spent the whole weekend looking for one, and had only found you. You were right, he didn't have any other choice. He already knew that you were too stubborn, if he says no and leaves, you wouldn't go after him. Or maybe Serena could make you, but he didn't have that luxury to give it a chance to find out.

Sam let out a puff of air, his nostrils flaring as he did so.

"There better not be one wrong word about you from my son, or you're fired." - he said and left.

When you heard the door close you remained silent and you turned your head to the window, seeing as he walked back to his home. When the door closed you jumped up with a squeal, scaring the shit out of Serena.

"Oh my God! Did you hear that?! 50 bucks!" - you jumped up and down with a big smile.

"Yeah, but only for 4 hours a day." - Serena said, but she was smiling too.

"So? I can look for a part time job for the mornings, oh my God, I can't believe he said yes!" - you hugged her.

"Well, techinally he didn't." - she smirked and gently slapped your bum as you let go of her, then she continued cooking.

"Technnically he has a stick so far up in his ass, that it's making him unable to say yes to people who are more poor than him." - you rolled your eyes.

"Hey, would you stop talking about him like that? While we talked he was nice. Normal." - your step-mother defended him.

"Oh, mom, it was just an act. He behaved because he needed your help."

"It didn't seem like that."

"Trust me, it was like that. People like him look down on people like us."

"You should stop judging books by their covers."

"I will, when they stop doing it too." - you kissed her cheek, then went out to play with your step-sisters before dinner.


	3. Chapter 3

"Okay, time to pick up the spoiled brat from school." - you said grabbing your wallet and phone, then putting them on the back pockets of your worn and faded boyfriend cut jeans. You pulled on a pair of old, cheap sneakers, which you tried to clean, but there were still dirt sponts on them. You looked in the mirror: your way too big purple shirt with the Looney Tunes emblem and the lime green New York baseball cap totally didn't match, but you didn't really care, it's not like you had too much clothes to choose from. You turned the cap backwards on your head and headed to the kitchen.

There was a note on the dining table from Sam, he handed it to Serena in the morning. There were a few info for your job on it: Lucas' school's name, its address and phone number and also Sam's phone number, and there was a warning that it was only to be used when there's an emergency.

You kinda wanted to prank call him to say that when you went to pick up Lucas, he was nowhere to be found, but you decided against it. He was paying you way too much to pull a prank like this, especially on your first day.

"Well, there's always tomorrow." - you said with an evil smile then hurried to the bus stop.

It would be also too much to be late on your first day.

His school was about 10 minutes walk away from the bus stop where you got off, and you arrived just in time to see the first few kids exit the building.

Sam told Lucas that the "neighbour lady who looks like she's from the 90's" is gonna be his new nanny, and when he stepped through the doors, he immediately recognized you.

As he slowly walked to you with his head hanging low, you saw as a few boys his age snickered as he walked past them and you narrowed your eyes, popping the bubble gum louldy in your mouth.

"Hey, kid." - you greeted him as he reached you.

"Hey." - he replied with a monotone tone, then his eyes widened when he looked up. - "Whoa! We're gonna go home with this?!"

You looked at him confused and followed his line of sight which was behind you. You turned your head back, then you uncrossed your arms, standing up from the C Class Mercedes you casually leaned against while you waited.

"God no, we're taking the bus." - you said, as you looked around, making sure the owner didn't see you, then you started walking.

"We're gonna take the bus?" - he asked with disdain in his voice.

You turned around quickly, leaning down to be eye level with him, making him jump back scared, because he thought you're gonna headbutt him.

"You have a problem with taking the bus?" - you asked in a dangerously low tone.

"N... no." - he replied, eyes widening in fear.

"Good." - your eyes turned sideways when you heard the same boys laughing again as they were looking at you and Lucas.

You turned your eyes back to Sam's son.

"What's up with them?" - you asked, your faces still only inches away from each others.

Lucas looked down again.

"Nothing." - he replied as he started walking in the direction you previously wanted to go.

You straightened up and watched Lucas as he walked with his head hung low and his shoulders sank, then you looked back at the laughing boys.

"Shut up already! Why don't you put your mouths to good use and suck each other's cocks, huh?!" - you said loudly and the guys immediately stopped laughing and their eyes went wide.

When Lucas heard you, he turned around shocked, and saw you were imitating the said action with your hand and mouth. The bullies ran in every direction, while the parents walking by gasped and didn't know what to cover: their children's eyes or ears.

You walked to Lucas, muttering angrily under your breath, but you smirked when you saw his megawatt smile.

"I've never saw them this scared, no one dares to talk back to them in school!" - he said excited.

"Yeah, and why's that?" - you asked as you two finally started walking to the bus stop.

"They are making fun of everyone, usually no one dares to stand up to them. There was one time when I did, but later they stole my watch which I got from my dad for one of my birthdays and punched me in the stomach."

You looked wide eyed at Lucas. You didn't expect that, you thought that being the son of a rich man it's gonna be him who turns into a bully. You once called him Draco Malfoy when you and Serena saw him and Sam from your window, which of course Serena didn't like.

You thought that he was just a spoiled little brat, but what those boys did to him was awful.

As much as you hated to admit it, your step-mom was right (again), you should really stop judging books by their covers.

"What the hell? And what did your dad do?"

"Nothing."

"What?!"

"I didn't tell him."

"What, why?"

"I don't want him to be worried, he works a lot and I don't want to be one of his many problems."

You put your hand on Lucas' shoulder and made him turn to you.

"Hey. You're his kid. Your problem is his problem, okay? He didn't even realize that you're not wearing the watch he gave you?"

Lucas was looking at the ground as he answered.

"I told him I lost it."

You closed your eyes as you let out a sigh.

"Do you want me to talk to him?"

His head snapped back to you.

"No! Please no! I don't want him to be disappointed in me!" - he pleaded, his hands were holding on to your wrists as your hands were resting on his shoulders.

"Why would he be disappointed?" - you asked with a frown.

"He's very smart, and strong and brave, and I wanna be like him, but if he finds out about them he will realize I'm nothing like him." - he admitted defeated.

Lucas was surprised by himself. He was usually very closed off with his nannies, they were nice and all, asking about how his day was, what he wanted to eat, and did everything as expected, but they all have witnessed his classmates bullying him, and they've never stood up to defend him like you did.

And since you already acknowledged the situation, he thought being honest with you was the least he could do.

You hated to admit it, but you became emotional as you listened to him. He sounded so much like you did when you were little. Expect no one helped you when others hurt you, so you had to help yourself.

"Okay. I will shut up about it." - you said as you continued walking and you wrapped one of your arms around his shoulders. - "But you gotta tell me why they're bullying you."

"Well, they find a reason for everybody, but they're mocking me because I'm not as good at soccer as they are." - Lucas said.

"What? That's it?" - you asked with a frown.

"Yeah. And they're usually making a few comments about how I have a new nanny every few weeks, and that it's because they all hate me too and leave me just like my mom did."

"Jesus Christ, Lucas, that's awful! But it also brings up a question: why is that none of them are around longer than a few weeks?"

Lucas shrugged his shoulders.

"They're not my mom."

"Well, in their defense, they're not paid to be your mom."

"Then why did they try to act like it?!" - he stopped suddenly and threw your arm off his shoulder. - "They tried to act like it, they always asked how my day was, what I want to eat, then boss me around to do my homework and clean my room! But guess what! When they asked me how my day was it was in the same moment they witnessed those assholes laugh at me, and they did nothing! A mom would've done something! When they told me to do my homework and see me struggling with it, none of them offered their help! A mom would've helped me!"

Jesus, this kid had issues. Like a shitload of them.

You saw he was really upset, and you wanted to help him. But if you wanted to help him, first you needed him to help you.

"Let's make a deal Lucas, okay?" - you asked calmly. - "Your dad and I don't really see eye to eye, but I need this job. To keep this job I need you to praise me when he asks you how do you like me as your new nanny. In return I will help you deal with those assholes, and while I'm not really smart, I will try to help you with your homework too, huh? And also when I was a kid I played soccer every afternoon with the other boys on the street, and I still know a few tricks I can show you. How's that sound?" - you asked as you reached out and gently tugged on a curly lock of his hair.

He looked up at you in surprise.

"You played soccer?"

"Yes, sir, and I was fairly good at it." - you saluted him, making him smile as he wiped one of his eyes. - So, do we have a deal?" - you asked, raising your hand up, waiting for him to high five you.

He did, then you shook hands.

"Deal."

You smirked and wrapped your arm around his shoulder again as you slowly arrived at the bus stop.

"So tell me, my little gimp friend, how often do you have trainings?"

Lucas rolled his eyes at the name you called him, but he had a smile on his face.

"Twice a week."

"When?"

"On Mondays and Thursdays, after school."

"I hate to break it to you, kid, but today is Monday."

"I know."

"So why aren't we on the training then?"

"Why should we? The coach always puts me on the bench."

"Oh, so you're that bad, huh?" - you looked in front of you as you were deep in thought, ignoring Lucas' offended 'hey' at your insult. - "We really have to work on this soccer thing... And which subject do you need help with?"

"Maths."

"Errr... Well, I'm not gonna be much of a help with that, but my step-sisters are the same grade as you. They're in different school though, but I'm sure the curriculum is the same..."

"They're not gonna... make fun of me?" - Lucas asked shyly.

You chuckled.

"Don't worry, they're sweet little angels. I'm the only asshole in that family."

"You're not an asshole. You're just really... boyish."

"Boyish?" - you asked with a raised eyebrow, but you were smiling.

Lucas was sweet kid. Which surprised you. You couldn't believe how different he was from his father.

"Yeah, I mean you always wear... these type of clothes and you talk like a boy too."

"I'm gonna fill you in a little secret, girls are swearing too."

"I know, but... Do they swear this much?"

"Probably not." - you smirked as you remembered back to the times when Serena compared you to a sailor. - "And what's the problem with my clothes?"

"Girls around your age dress differently."

"So?" - you narrowed your eyes.

"Nothing. It's just... weird."

"The word you were searching for is iconic, I think."

"No, that's definitely not the word I originally wanted to say." - Lucas smirked.

"Oh, yeah? What was it then, loser?" - you asked tauntingly and Lucas jumped away from you with a laugh as you made a gesture to attack him, and you two chased each other around the bus stop and the nearby bushes until the bus arrived.

When you arrived at his home, you looked around with a low whistle as you walked inside the house. It was fancy, everything was either white, grey or made of glass, it was really modern.

"Huh, and he only wanted to pay me 25 bucks, pff." - you said as you walked in the livingroom, throwing yourself on the black leather couch.

Lucas sat down next to you, dropping his bag on the floor.

"You wanna eat something?" - you asked.

"I'm not really hungry."

"Okay... Errr, what else did these nannies do, while they were here?"

"Uhm, they usually sent me up to my room to do my homework and to tidy up my room, I don't know what they did in the meantime."

You snorted loudly and very unladylike, looking down on your red watch, the clockface displaying Taz.

"It's still one and a half hour until my sisters get home from school, so we're only doing your homework then. Do you have a ball? How about we play some soccer until then?"

Lucas' eyes widened in excitement.

"Cool!" - he jumped up from the couch and sprinted upstairs

"I wish I have that much energy." - you commented with a smile.

Well, after a hour of playing in their ridiculously big backyard, where they of course had a big fucking pool, you had to admit that Lucas indeed sucked at soccer.

You tried to show him some tricks which were easy to learn, but it was like his feet were moving on their own and they weren't connected to his brain.

You have to look up some training videos on the internet if you want to improve him.

"So, uhm... Don't take this in the wrong way, but why on earth did you want to be on the soccer team again?" - you asked as you were cooking some dinner since Lucas said he started to get hungry.

Lucas looked up from his English book. He was sitting on a barstool against the counter, doing the homework for the subjects he didn't have problems with.

"Dad said he wanted me to play a sport, he didn't care which one, he just said that it's important to exercise. And well, soccer seemed the easiest." - Lucas admitted, his ears getting red in embarrasment.

You chuckled and stirred the food in the pan.

"And when your dad watches your games and sees that you're never in the starting line-up he never had a word with your coach about it?"

"He doesn't know that I'm never in the line-up, he never comes to our games."

"What?!" - you asked shocked as you turned around quickly.

"It's okay, really. At least he doesn't know that I'm a loser." - Lucas said, looking down.

"You're not a loser."

"You called me loser earlier."

"Yeah, but that's different, I'm your nanny, I can call you whatever I want. Anyways, you're not a loser, you just need practice. A lot of practice, I might add, a huge amount of practice..."

"Okay, I get it." - Lucas interrupted your rant.

"... more than a huge amount, a shitload of it..."

"I said I get it, Y/N!"

"... we're gonna make a Ronaldinho out of you, kid, you're on a toddler level now, not really knowing which foot comes after which one during walking, but we can overcome that..."

"Stop it!" - Lucas yelled while laughing, thowing a rubber at you.

You dodged it with the wooden spoon and it landed in the food you were cooking.

"Shit!" - you cried and quickly fished it out.

"It's gonna give it an extra flavour." - Lucas commented.

"Yummy."

After you two ate, you heard when your sisters got home from school and you introduced Lucas to them. They both came over to Sam's place and the four of you got cozy in the livingroom, the kids doing their homework and you played Mortal Kombat on Lucas' PS4 on a low volume.

"Y/N, why is that our house doesn't look like this?" - Naomi, your black-skinned sister asked you after a while.

"Because we're not rich assholes." - you replied without a beat, too engrossed in the game, and your eyes widened when you realized that besides your sisters, you also had said rich asshole's son in the room with you.

You quickly looked at Lucas, who raised an eyebrow at you.

"Did you just call my dad an asshole?"

"Uhm..." - you gulped nervously.

"Well, at least now I know why he called you yesterday a pain in the ass." - he shrugged his shoulders.

"HE WHAT?" - you asked shocked, while your sisters giggled.

"He didn't say it out loud, I just heard him muttering it as he got home from your place."

"Who muttered what?" - Sam asked as he suddenly walked in the livingroom, and his eyes widened for a moment when he saw that your sisters were there too. - "Hey girls."

"Hi Mr. Drake!" - they said and waved at him at the same time, and he smiled.

It quickly faded when his eyes landed on you and saw that you were looking at him like you were about to murder him.

"Hi." - he said casually.

"Hi." - you snapped back and continued the game, completely destroying your opponent.

"I didn't know I was paying you double for playing videogames." - Sam said annoyed as he sat down in one of the armchairs.

"Well, you didn't come home to your son having a mental breakdown, so that's why you're paying me double." - you looked at him with a sweet but fake smile.

Sam gave you a mocked smile, then turned his attention to his son.

"So how do you like your new nanny?"

"She's cool." - Lucas smiled, surprising Sam.

"Cool?" - he asked with raised eyebrows.

"It might come as a surprise, but not everybody thinks that I'm a pain in the ass." - you commented, as you were fighting against Scorpion with Mileena.

Sam's eyes widened and he looked at Lucas who only gave him an innocent smile.

"So uhm... How come your step-sisters are here too?"

"My sisters and Lucas are helping each other doing their homeworks." - you didn't say they were the ones helping Lucas on purpose.

"That's sweet, but Lucas doesn't need help, he's excellent in every subject."

You looked at Lucas who bit his lip, then at Sam, who was wearing a confident smile.

"Well, they're going to different schools, I thought they could show each other different learning techniques." - you countered.

Sam eyed you for a moment, then nodded.

"Very well, I approve of it."

"Not like I need your permission." - you said quietly with an eyeroll.

"Sorry, what was that?" - Sam asked, suspiciously.

"Nothing." - you turned off the PS, then stood up and walked to him, reaching out your open palm to him.

"I still can't believe I'm paying you for playing videogames." - he muttered annoyed as he handed you 200 dollars.

"This the best job of my life, boss." - you gave him a smirk and a salute.

"Yeah, yeah, just don't make me regret it." - Sam sighed, rubbing the spot between his eyes, then he leaned his head back on the back of the armchair, his eyes losing focus as he stared at the ceiling.

He looked exhausted. You almost felt sorry for him, but he was still your asshole neighbour so you just smirked.

"Oh, don't worry, you will!" - you patted his shoulder.

"Yay." - was his only response and you motioned for your sisters to grab their stuff.

"Come on girls, let's leave the boring boys to themsleves."

They giggled, the carefree sound put a smile on Sam's face and you smiled too, saying your goodbyes.

After you left, Sam lifted his head to look at his son.

"Do you really like her?"

Lucas grinned.

"Yeah, she's funny, she also cooks good."

"She cooked?" - Sam asked surprised.

He wanted at least one reason why he could scold you tomorrow, but looks like you're really gonna be good at your job.

"Yes, she made chicken with cream and mushroom, and rice."

"Hmm." - Sam lifted an eyebrow looking towards the kitchen.

"I know you wanna try it." - Lucas said with a sly grin.

"You sure she didn't poison it?"

Lucas laughed and shook his head.

"She ate from it too, she's either immune or there's no poison."

Sam walked to the kitchen, and put some of the food on a plate. He didn't have to microwave it, because it was still a bit warm.

When he tasted it he closed his eyes and moaned.

Looks like he doesn't have to fire you. Yet.


	4. Chapter 4

Sam was way calmer the next day during work. Well, work was stressful as usual, but at least he didn't have to worry about you being a bad nanny. Lucas only said good things about you, which he still had a hard time wrapping his head around, but at least his nanny problem was solved.

Oh, only if it was that easy...

It was only early afternoon when his phone rang and he frowned when he picked it up and the school principle greeted him. Sam was scared first, did Lucas do something?

After the first sentence it was clear that he didn't, but a bigger problem raised its head when the principal told him that he recieved several messages and phone calls from outrageous parents, because the nanny who picked up Lucas yesterday shouted obscene things for the whole school to hear. They said they don't pay for their children to go to a school where a "madwoman" is on the loose.

Sam apologized a million times and when he ended the call he let out a loud groan.

"Of course she would do that. She's irritating, she's full of herself, and she's fucking insane!" - he said as he buried his face in his hands.

"Who's insane?" - Linda, his secretary asked as she walked in his office with a huge pile of papers.

"Apperantly me, since I'm talking to myself." - Sam groaned and took the papers from her.

"Another nanny?" - she asked with chuckle.

"How did you know?" - Sam asked back, faking surprise.

"Good luck with her."

"Thanks, I'll need it."

"Also make you sure you eat something, don't think I haven't noticed that you skipped lunch. Again." - she said firmly and with a serious look on her face she exited the office.

"Yeah, yeah..." - Sam murmured as he pulled the papers in front of him, already forgetting about food.

Work was stressful in the past couple of weeks, the marketing company lost an important client and their project to their biggest rivals and Sam and his team now have to work extra hard to get a new one and make a bomb commercial for it to get money, or his company will be in serious trouble.

He looked at a photo of Lucas and him which was on his table and picked it up, smiling a little. It was taken last year when they were on a vacation in Rome. He wished he had time to plan another one this year, the two of them barely spent time together in the last few weeks. Sam was always too tired to do anything than rest on the weekends.

He put it back with a big sigh and focused on the papers, wishing that the day was over already.

\-----

You were sitting on the backrest of a wooden bench while you waited for Lucas outside his school. A few parents were giving you dirty looks, which you tried to dodge with your murder stare, but when you saw that the same boys who laughed at him yesterday let him pass them in peace, you smiled a little.

"Hey, did those fuckers gave you a hard time today?" - you aksed Lucas when he reached you and you hopped off the bench.

"They were okay. But the principal wanted to speak with me in his office." - Lucas told you.

"What? Why?"

"Because of what you did yesterday."

"What?! What did I do?"

"Well, as awesome as it was, some of the adults said shouting obscene things to kids is unacceptable and harsh."

"Harsh? Me? They're fucking bullies who terrorize and beat up their schoolmates! That doesn't sound harsh?!"

"Y/N, you're shouting obscene things again." - Lucas said calmly as he looked around, and yep, everyone was staring at you just like yesterday. - "Come on, let's go home." - Lucas said as he took your hand and led you to the bus stop.

"Those little shits need to learn their lesson. But first I'm gonna make a Messi out of you."

"I thought I was gonna be Ronaldinho?"

"You're gonna be the ultimate soccer player when I'm done with you, only posessing the best qualities of the best players." - you said confidently.

Lucas smiled and hugged you, and your eyes went wide when you felt his arms around your waist, but you hugged him back.

"Thank you, Y/N."

"For what?"

"For believing in me. Everyone, even the coach says that I'm a lost case, but you are training me and believe in me."

You smiled and squeezed Lucas a little stronger, then you let him go when the bus arrived.

"The most important thing is to believe in yourself. I know it sounds sloppy, but that is the key. Do you believe in yourself?" - you asked as you sat down on the seats.

"Hell yeah!" - Lucas said excited, which made you smile.

"That's the spirit! Okay, so while you were in school I looked up different training techniques on the internet, so while we're waiting for my sisters to get home from school and help you with the homework, we're gonna practice, everyday."

"Hey, Y/N?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for not telling dad, that your sisters were at our place to help me."

"Of course, kid. But how come that he doesn't know you're struggling with math?" - you asked.

"Well, the boy sitting next to me is really good at it, and I copy him during tests."

"Sneaky." - you snorted.

Lucas just smiled, with blushing cheeks.

"Hey, don't be embarassed, I did this in every class throghout my 4 years of highschool." - you said nonchalantly.

"And look how far that got you." - Lucas commented.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" - you frowned.

"Nothing."

His words stung, you're not gonna lie, but the thruth was you were never the brightest one in your class, and even when you tried to study, you couldn't remember a single sentence on the next day. It didn't matter what subject it was. You always thought that something was wrong with you, but no one took you to a doctor to check you out. The orphanage and your former foster parents because they didn't care, and later when you were adopted by Serena she just didn't have the money to take you to see one. She always tried to help study with you, though.

"Well, look at it that way: I get paid 200 per day to take you home from school, play soccer, then to play videogames. I'm living the best life."

"Well, now that you put it that way..." - Lucas smiled.

"Right? I'm a genius." - you smirked, looking out the window.

Once at their place, you asked Lucas to put on more comfortable clothes as you prepaired the backyard. You used some of his toys to make a training course. He didn't have problem with speed, he was a fast runner which you noticed yesterday while you fooled around the bus stop. The most important thing was to improve his bodywork and footspeed while maintaining the ball.

You made a serpentin and other similar courses on the grass, and showed him how you wanted him to lead the ball through them. The idea was for him to be able to do it faster and faster in the future.

That was the first part of his training, the second half was teaching him how to kick the ball and actually hit a target. You used a few empty energy drink bottles as targets and explained to him where to place his foot on the ball if he wanted it to go in a certain way.

This first training day was a disaster and you could see that Lucas was really disappointed in himself, but you encouraged him that practice makes perfect and the key to success was patience.

"Don't worry, hun, you're gonna be better than them. You're really fast, you're gonna outran everybody and score a goal, I'm sure of it." - you said in a confident voice, feeling positive about his skills.

"How long do you think it will take for me to be good?" - Lucas asked as he helped you pick up the toys and bottles from the grass.

"Well, if we practice everyday, I'm sure you're gonna show improvement in a few weeks." - you replied and Lucas groaned. - "Hey, no one is instantly good in football!"

"Ronadinho, Ronaldo, Zidane, Beckham, Figo, Ibrahimovic..." - Lucas started listing the names.

"Whoah, okay, but they're like... Actually have their feet connected to their brains, which is seriusly not the case with you."

"Hey!" - Lucas complained and you laughed when he threw one of his stuffed animals at you.

"You dare to rebel against me?!" - you asked as you turned on his red lightsaber toy.

Lucas laughed and searched for the blue one.

"It's over, Anakin, I have the high-ground." - he said and turned it on too.

You dueled very overdramatically, and you let him stab you after a while, collapsing on the grass as he evil-laughed.

"You know what, I'm not cooking for someone who just killed me." - you said as he helped you stand up, but he gave you puppy eyes, and his expression was literally irresistible. - "You're lucky you're cuter than your dad." - you narrowed your eyes at him and he laughed.

"Seriously, why do you hate my dad so much?"

"I don't hate him, I just can't stand him."

"Uhm... that's the same thing?" - Lucas asked as he followed you into the kitchen.

"I don't know, he just has this 'I'm a very serious business man, so you must obey me' aura around him, which makes me want to punch him." - you explaimed, imitating Sam's a low voice.

Lucas laughed again.

"I guess he has that affect on a lot of people. But he's cool as a dad."

"I'm glad to hear that." - you said as you looked around in the fridge and kitchen cabinets. - "How about I make lasagna?"

"Sounds good." - Lucas replied and sat on the barstool which was at the counter.

"Can I ask you a question?" - you asked as you started preparing the food.

"Shoot."

"Where's your mom?"

This question was in your mind for quite some time now, you always saw Lucas with Sam but never with his mom. And yesterday, when you were first in the house you didn't see any pictures of her either.

Lucas looked up at you and slowly put the book which he pulled out from his backpack on the counter. When he didn't answer for a while, you looked at him too. His eyes seemed sad, and your expression softened from curious to understanding.

"You don't have to answer it. Sorry, I was just curious, it's none of my business." - you gave him an apologetic smile.

"Mom and dad had a divorce when I was four. She moved to France and started a new family."

You put down the knife you were holding and gave Lucas a sympathetic look.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Do you guys visit each other though?"

Lucas shook his head.

"I guess she doesn't love me enough to do that." - Lucas said quietly as he was looking at his book.

Well, you didn't want to say that it was surely not the case. If it wasn't, she would be the one raising him, or at least she wouldn't have moved to another continent, so she could be close to him.

When you didn't say anything, Lucas looked at you.

"What about your real mom?"

You gave him a sad smile as you cut up an onion.

"I guess she didn't love me enough either."

"She died?" - he asked when he caught on the past tense you used.

"I don't know where she is. And honestly? I don't even care. A mom's place is next to her child, no matter what."

Lucas nodded and fidgeted with the book's cover.

"What about your dad?"

You sighed.

"That's a topic I'm not gonna talk about to anyone ever."

"Why? Is he dead?"

"Jesus christ kid, what's up with you and death, huh?" - you asked with a small chuckle.

He shrugged.

"Just asking."

"He's not dead. But to give you a small hint of the puzzle, I wish he was."

"He's that bad?"

You nodded and changed the subject.

"So how was the math class?"

"It was okay. Thanks to Naomi and Lily I finally had a clue what the teacher was talking about."

"That's great. I just wish you'd show such a fast progress in soccer too."

"Hey!" - Lucas yelled and hopped down from the chair to chase you around the kitchen while you laughed.

Not long after you managed to finish cooking and you two ate, your sisters arrived and the three of them sprawled out on the floor around the livingroom doing their homeworks, while you played with Fall Guys on a low volume, to not disturb them.

Sometimes you glanced at them, smiling at how helpful your sisters were and how adamant Lucas was to understand what they were saying.

They've finished sooner than yesterday, and you looked at your watch, seeing that you still had about half an hour before Sam comes home.

"Good job, minions! Now how about we take Pillow for a walk, and maybe I'll buy y'all ice-cream for being good, huh?"

The kids cheered and you were glad you managed to trick Sam into paying you more so you're able to surprise your sisters with little gifts like this. Lucas also looked more cheerful than you ever saw him before and you guessed it was because he can hang out with others than his dad. Not like he didn't love him, you knew he did, but it can get boring to spend all his free time with him or with videogames and not be able to be with others.

When you were walking home and all four of you were eating your big ice creams, your phone rang and when you saw Sam's name on the screen, you picked it up with a frown.

"Hey, Bossy McBoss." - you greeted him, and the kids chuckled at the name.

"Uuuhhh, hey." - Sam is gonna need more time to get used to your names for him, after all, he knew he can't make you stop using them. - "I'm just calling because I wanted to ask if you can watch Lucas for a little longer?"

"Why? Is something wrong?" - you asked, and Sam was taken aback by your slightly worried tone.

"Uhm, no, I just still have a lot of paperwork to do, and I don't wanna leave them for tomorrow."

"Hm, okay, when will you be home?" - you asked, your voice turned back to its earlier, casual tone.

"I don't know, I'll try to hurry, okay?"

"Okay. Just make sure you'll have the extra cash to pay me." - you teased with a smirk.

Sam smiled too, there was the Y/N he knew.

"Well, I don't think I will pay you for the extra hours, Y/N." - he said as he laid back in his chair and put his feet on his desk.

"What? Why?" - you asked with a frown.

"See, I've had a rather unpleasant conversation with the school principal." - he started and waited for a reaction.

When you remained silent, he continued.

"Do you know what it was about?"

"Uhm... About your cute little neighbour who is the best nanny on the whole wide world, and whom your son loves to pieces?" - you guessed, using your innocent tone.

You heard Sam laugh on the other end, and a smile tugged at your lips. You've never heard him laugh before.

"Well, he didn't use these words, that's for sure."

"How rude of him."

"Just as it was for you to say obscene things in a rather loud voice for the whole school to hear."

"Me? Seriously Sam, do I strike you as the cursing type?"

Sam heard the kids laugh again, and he chuckled.

"Seriously Y/N, we need to talk about that. I don't want to keep getting calls like that."

"Hmm, I still think, he confused me with someone else."

"Y/N." - Sam warned.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

"Thank you."

"Well, maybe today I've cursed a little too, so prepare for another call from the man."

"What?!"

"Bye, boss!"

*click*

"Y/N? Y/N?!" - Sam asked then he looked at the phone and put it back with an annoyed growl.

"She's so lucky Lucas likes her. And that I need her..."


	5. Chapter 5

It was 8 pm, and Sam was still nowhere. You've sent the girls home to shower and prepare for bed, and you instructed Lucas to do the same, but he was reluctant.

"But it's only, 8:13, going to sleep this early is so lame!" - he whined.

"It is, but these are the rules." - you replied, while you put the lasagna in the fridge.

"No."

"Look at it that way: after you finish showering and washing your teeth, it's almost 9."

"Still lame."

"Then what do you wanna do?" - you asked with a dramatic sigh as you put one hand on your hip, and gestured widely with the other.

"I don't know, like... watch a horror movie?!" - his eyes went wide in excitement at the idea.

"Haha, no chance in hell." - you replied in a beat, not amused at all.

"Why?"

"Because you're just a lil' baby."

"I'm not a baby!"

"Well, compared to me you are, get over it, fam."

"I thought you were cool." - Lucas said with a frown.

"Uhm, excuse me, if you look up the definition cool in the dictionary, there's a picture of me." - you answered, flipping your hair.

Lucas rolled his eyes.

"All the other nannies sent me to bed when dad was late, and you're doing the same."

"Because that's what nannies do."

"Please, Y/N, I'm not sleepy at all, if you send me in my room, I won't be able to fall asleep and I don't wanna be alone." - Lucas said with sad puppy eyes, and as much as you hated it, you've fell for it again.

You let out a defeated sigh.

"Go take a shower, wash your teeth and then we'll watch a movie."

"Yay! You're the best!" - he yelled, as he sprinted up the stairs.

"I know, I know." - you murmured as you wiped down the kitchen counter. - "But it's not gonna be a horror movie!" - you shouted up after him.

"Okay!"

"Little manipulative rascal." - you growled, but smiled soon after.

\-----

When Sam pulled up at the house, he frowned when he didn't see any lights on.

"I swear to God if she left him alone..." - he said, and quickly checked his watch.

10:23 pm, just great.

On the way home he was practicing his lecture he's gonna give you for not being able to act like a normal adult when you pick Lucas up from school, and if you just went home after his son fell asleep, then there's gonna be a lot more added to that speech, and you're not gonna like it. Oh, and you can say goodbye to the extra money he was gonna give you for the extra hours. This way maybe you're gonna learn some manners.

Sam walked inside the house, and as he walked through the hall, he frowned a little when he heard low voices and faint lights coming from the livingroom.

As he entered it, he saw that the first Ironman movie was playing, and when he quietly walked closer, saw that you and Lucas were laying on the floor in front of the TV, both of you sleeping with one big blanket covering both of you.

Sam's frown was repliced with a smile and a low chuckle escaped his lips when he saw two empty bags of chips and a few chocolate papers around you.

He took off his suit jacket and tie and sat in the black leather armchair to watch the movie, but after a few seconds, his eyes always traveled to you and Lucas.

Both of you were laying on your stomach and your heads were facing each other, with one of your hands under your heads, and the other laying between your faces, almost touching.

Sam rested his head on his hand and watched the two of you as you slept. He never came home to a sight like this. It's not like he was always working late, there were only a few times he had to ask a nanny to stay longer, but Lucas was always in his room, while the nanny was watching the TV or reading a book.

He never came home to this sight when Lucas was little either, and his mom was still here. At first Sam thought that it was because she was just not the pampering type, but after she left, he knew she just didn't want Lucas. Or him. She took care of Lucas of course, fed him, bathed him, changed his diapers, read him books, when he couldn't fall asleep, but sometimes when Sam watched her, he didn't see a mother, he only saw a woman on duty.

And it broke him inside. He knew she and him wouldn't be forever together, he had that feeling even before she became pregnant, but when that happened, he had that hope that a baby will change everything.

But it didn't.

And he only was sad for Lucas.

He was such a sweet kid, with a heart of gold, and he was full of life and energy and it still wasn't enough for his own mother.

Sam will never be able to understand that.

Watching you two now, made him wonder if that's what a real mother and son relationship would look like. You were too young to be a mom of a kid of his son's age (well, mentally for sure), but he pictured you two just hanging out, talking about school, eating dinner, and watching movies as you're laying on the floor, eating snacks and having a good time, then just falling asleep next to each other.

Sam wiped his eyes, to massage away the sleepiness or the soon-to-come tears, he wasn't sure. But when he opened his eyes, they went wide in surprise when he noticed you were watching him.

"You know..." - you started in a low wishper, to not to wake Lucas. - "I always thought that in movies where the guy watches the girl sleep was romantic, but experiencing it makes me think it's creepy."

Sam hid a smirk.

"Then you'll be glad to hear that I was watching the movie." - he replied in the same hushed tone.

He saw you smile then you turned your head to the TV. For a few minutes you watched in silence, then you looked at Sam again.

"You could be Ironman, you know."

Sam lifted his eyebrows in surprise. He definitely didn't see that coming.

"How come?"

"You already have the sharp business suit, the big house, the cool car, and the arrogant asshole aura, you only need the Iron Suit."

Sam snorted. Okay, he should've seen that one coming.

"Well, I definitely wouldn't save you in a disaster."

"Why?" - you pouted.

"Because if there is one, it's more than likely that you are the one who started it."

Sam saw as you made a shocked face, then you put your hand in front of your mouth, and from the way your body shook and the strange breathy noises you were making he knew that you were laughing. For a few seconds he just smiled then he started to chuckle too.

"Oh, so you can be funny." - you said with a smirk.

"I was just telling the truth."

"Okay, you're starting to sound like me. Stop."

"Annoying, right?"

You've narrowed you eyes, and Sam's little smirk widened.

"You know what's a disaster? Your face. You look like a train hit you."

"And I feel like it, thanks for reminding me." - Sam answered as he laid back in the chair and wiped his eyes again, sighing.

When he opened them again, you were already on your feet, carefully tucking Lucas with the blanket. Sam watched as you gently smoothed your finger over his son's forehead to push back his hair, and his heart did a sudden, strange jump in his chest.

"Did you ate anything during your after-hours?" - you asked quietly as you walked to him. - "There's lasagna in the fridge if you want a late night dinner." - you wiggled your eyebrows.

"I think I'm gonna take that offer." - Sam said as he stood up and searched his pants for his wallet. - "I hate to say it, but the food you made yesterday was really good."

"Oh, I know, your son ate twice. I think I should charge you extra for spoiling you guys with my cooking skills." - you smirked and held out your palm.

Sam grinned too, as he put the money in your hand.

"If you had the chance, I'm sure you'd make me go bankrupt."

"Save the planet, eat the rich."

Sam shook his head.

"I don't like that one. I also drive a hybrid, so it's not accurate."

"Money is a girl's best friend?"

"I think Marilyn sang it differently."

"Well, I've never had diamonds, so I really don't know now, do I? But if you wanna pay me in gemstones, I'm more than ha..."

"In your dreams, lady."

You pouted and put away the money without counting it, because it was dark and you barely saw anything, then you headed for the door, hearing that Sam was following you.

"You're no fun."

"I'm your boss, I shoudn't be fun."

You opened the door, but turned back with a confused and annoyed face.

"That's such a bullshit."

"Sorry to disappoint, then." - Sam said, his half smirk still evident on his face, as he watched you walk out.

As much as he hated to admit it, he enjoyed these little banters between you two. Or he was just really desperate to have a conversation which wasn't about his work.

"Ehh, I'm used to it." - you fingergunned him, then added. - "And dreams come true, you know."

"And yours was to be an annoying little brat? Because then congratulations, you succeded."

"This isn't even my final form." - you said with a bow, acting like you removed your hat in the process, while you were walking backwards, then you waved and turned around, walking to your home.

Sam shook his head with a chuckle, and waited until you were inside your home, then he closed the door and walked to the kitchen to try that lasagna of yours.

He was kind of annoyed how good it tasted.

Once at home, you quietly walked to the kitchen and pulled out the money from your pocket, to put the half of it in a jar. You and Serena talked about renovating the house and you wanted to start with the kitchen, since that's where all of you spend the most time in the house.

However, when you looked at the money in your hand, your eyes went wide and your jaw dropped, when you saw that Sam actually gave you another 300 hundred for the extra hours you did.

This must be a mistake, he said that he's not gonna pay you, because of your behaviour at Lucas' school, and actually, now that you were thinking about it, after the phone call you prepared yourself for a lecture from Sam after he arrived home, but there was none.

Maybe he was too tired to have a fight with you, or he knew he doesn't have a chance against you anyway.

You smirked at the thought, but for some reason it still bugged you that he gave you so much money. Maybe be didn't see how much he was paying you because of the dark.

You counted down 100 dollars from it and put it in the jar, and decided you're gonna give back the extra money tomorrow.

When you couldn't fell asleep after half an hour, you grabbed your phone and texted Sam.

'Hey, boss, you still up?'

Maybe he wasn't, you saw how tired he looked, you were sure he headbutted his pillow the minute he walked in his ro...

'Yes. Is there something wrong?' - came his reply.

'Yes. Well no. I mean yes. You gave me more money than we've agreed on. Which would be totally fine by me, but I just wanted to give you a heads up, in case you don't have enough on you when you want to buy lunch tomorrow. Do you want me to give it back in the morning, or can it wait until the afternoon?'

On the other end, Sam couldn't help, but laugh. Did you really texted him, becasuse you thought he accidentally paid you more, and because of this he won't have enough to buy food for himself?

His laugh died down soon when he realized that maybe you, Serena and your sisters were in a situation when you couldn't buy food.

He hoped it wasn't the reason of this text. Or maybe you meant it as a joke? You knew he was rich. Ah, fuck, with you Sam never really knew when you were being serious or sarcastic.

Should he reply in a joking manner or what?

'I can reassure you that I can count just fine. You worked almost an extra 5 hours, so it's only fair I've paid you. On the other hand God knows how long you were asleep during it.'

Sam smiled as he wrote down that last bit and hit send.

You put your hand in front of your mouth to stiffle your laughs.

'I was just resting my eyelids and if you've heard snoring it was Lucas. Thanks boss ;)'

Sam rolled his eyes with a smirk.

'No problem. Good night, see you tomorrow.'

'Good night. One more thing tho. Are you gonna be late tomorrow too? I don't mind ;)'

'See? Told you, that you wanna make me go bankrupt :('

Jesus christ, did he really use an emoji? You put your phone on your nightstand with a giggle and closed your eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

Unfortunately for you, in the next three weeks Sam was home as usual, so that meant the regular payment. Not that you were complaining, you tricked him to pay you good money after all. Which really annoyed him, since everytime he came home you were either playing videogames, played hide-and seek with the girls and Lucas, took the kids to walk Pillow, or you were asleep while the kids were doing their homeworks.

But Sam really didn't have anything he can complain for other than that. There was always food on the table - and delicious food none the less - the kitchen was always clean, Lucas' homework was always done, and most importantly, his son was happy.

Even with the nannies Lucas didn't have a real problem with, he always looked annoyed and he was always pissed off.

Sam knew it wasn't the nannies' fault, even Lucas told him they've always did what they were asked to by Sam, but it looked like you had something plus, that Lucas liked.

Loved even.

He was always smiling when Sam came home and everytime you and your sisters left, Lucas talked fondly about you - which still surprised Sam. Sure, he had to admit to himself that you were not that bad like he first thought, and sometimes you had normal conversations, but most of the time you still had that confident, 'I don't care about anything' facade, which Sam found a little childlish. Well, you were younger than him of course, but you were still an adult, and honestly, none of the women around Sam -neighbours, coworkers, relatives, coworkers' relatives - were like you.

Fortunatley, he had noticed that you started to wear more... normal clothes. You still had that kind of boyish style: you were always wearing sneakers or your new pair of Converse, but you were wearing stylish jeans most of the time and you had some new shirts too.

Which in a strange way made Sam kinda happy.

Before you started working for him, you dressed in clothes that were worn and faded, and now Sam knew it was because you had no money to buy new ones. But now you have a well-paying job and it showed.

He also noticed that Naomi and Lily had new shoes and backpacks too, which genuenly made him happy.

There was another thing he was aware of, and it kind of unnerved him. Everytime he came home and the kids, him and you had a small chat about that day's happenings, you always eyed him in a strange way.

It wasn't a seductive look or a similar one that would make him think you were up to something... dirty, but it still looked like you were sizeing him up. It made Sam feel uncomfortable, insecure even.

Maybe he should ask you what it was about. You were doing it everyday in the past week and it's freaking him out.

Oh, god, what if he asks you and it is indeed something... dirty?

Sam's not gonna lie, he was a lonely man, a lonely man with needs, but he tried to bury that side of him. After his ex-wife left him and Lucas, and he was raising his son alone, he was too tired to even think about having sex, let alone make a move on someone. But after a while he became needy, and for a few months his hand was enough to solve that problem, but later it didn't seem to be enough either. So one time after work he called Lucas' nanny that he needed her to watch him for another hour. Which was a big fat lie becaue Sam did the very thing he never thought he would do. He picked up a prostitue.

It was just a quickie in his car, but unfortunately for Sam, the shame he felt after was bigger than the pleasure he felt during it. Especially after he arrived home and Lucas ran into his arms, saying how happy he was that he was finally home.

Dear lord, he had felt like a selfish bastard. From then on, prostitutes were out the window, and he only had like two women he had dated in the past few years, and Lucas didn't even know about them. Nor did they about Lucas. None of them lasted long enough for introductions to be made.

Sam didn't really miss relationships, or maybe he was too tired to put much effort into one. Sure, it would be nice to come home and be greeted by a kiss and a warm hug from a woman, but he didn't miss the fights and cold act like he had recieved from his ex-wife.

But dear God, he had missed sex. Not with a prostitute, that was kinda awkward the last time, but... he knew there were one or two women at the company who had their eyes on him.

Jesus Christ, was he really thinking about banging one of his employees?

That was a benefit of not needing to make time after work to do it after all...

"I'm a miserable asshole..." - Sam sighed, after he had dismissed the idea completely.

It would definitely end in a disaster.

Suddenly his secretary's voice filled his office on the speaker that was on his table.

"Mr. Drake, a young lady is here and she's saying that she has an appointment with you."

Sam frowned.

First of all.

It was Tuesday.

He never had appointments on Tuesdays, because he helped his team work on their projects.

Secondly.

It was noon.

Everyone was on a lunchbreak around noon. Well, not Sam, since his company still couldn't find a big name to make ads for. For months now. He was too stressed to eat during work.

But every normal being was on a lunchbreak around noon so why would someone had an appointment with him now?

"I don't have anybody on my calendar."

After a few seconds of silence, Linda spoke again.

"She says you do."

What the...?

"What's her name?" - Sam asked.

"Uuhh... Mrs. Doubtfire?"

Sam snorted at first then frowned when he heard his secretary's voice just outside his door.

"Lady, you can't go inside!"

"Cut it, Karen, I don't have all day!" - at the familar voice Sam's eyes widened and suddenly his door opened and you walked in, with a big brown paperbag in your hands.

"Hey, Bossy McBoss, missed me?!" - you grinned at him.

"Oh, God no." - Sam sighed defeated and Linda quickly walked inside too.

"Sorry, Sam, but she just flew past me."

"Yeah, she's like a tornado." - Sam said annoyed.

"Big and intimidating?" - you asked with hopeful eyes, as you looked between the two for confirmation.

"Loud and destructive." - Sam said with an accusing smile, and you gave him the exact reaction he hoped for: an angry pout.

Linda giggled when she realized who you were.

"Oh, she's the nanny? Mrs. Doubtfire, I get it now!"

"See? Even she thinks I'm funny." - you pointed at her with a grin.

"Linda, she's the nanny, Y/N. Y/N, she's Linda, my secretary." - Sam pointed at each of you as he leaned back in his chair.

"Oh, your secretary, I get it." - you gave them both a nasty grin as you shook her hand.

Linda and Sam frowned at you, not understanding what you're hinting at.

"Uh... So we're fine?" - Linda asked Sam.

"Yeah, although, we don't exatly have an appointment." - Sam narrowed his eyes at you, but you gave him an innocent smile.

Linda smiled and left the office, closing the door behind her.

"So, where can I sit? I mean, where can I sit, since you have a secretary and all." - you asked with a dirty grin.

"Uh... Anywhere?" - Sam replied, still not getting it.

You made a disgusted face as you looked around.

"Sam, seriously, I don't wanna sit where you're making her sit."  
Sam rolled his eyes and groaned loudly, leaning his head back when he finally understood what you're hinting at. In the past few weeks he had time get used to your dirty humor, and to not choke on his own saliva when you made comments like that. Seriously, he didn't have a clue how Serena can stand being in your presence for more than 10 minutes, since you don't mind talking like that in her presence either. For some reason she thought it was funny when you're like that.

"We're not in a porn movie, Y/N, grow up." - Sam said as he started organizing the papers and pens on his table.

"How sad, this little visit could've turned much more fun." - you grinned as you sat down in one of the chairs on the other side of his desk.

Sam snorted and smiled as he looked at you.

Okay, maybe you were indeed funny. But just a little bit.

"So, what else was the reason of your little surprise visit? Everything's okay with Lucas?" - he asked, suddenly turning serious.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm not here because of him."

"I'm not giving you more money." - Sam said immediately.

"Are you sure? I was told I have a talented mouth." - you wiggled your eyebrows.

Jesus Christ, the fact the Sam was thinking about sex just before you stormed in his office was not helping the situation at all.

But he just cleared his throat and gave you his 'I don't have time for this' look.

You shrugged with a sigh.

"Your loss. Anyway... Here." - you said as you put the big paperbag in front of him on the desk.

Sam frowned.

"What's this?"

"Bon appétit." - you answered as you pulled out your phone and you swung your legs over the arm of the chair, sitting in sideways and started playing.

Or that's what Sam assumed by the silly music that was coming from it.

Sam slowly opened the bag and despite not feeling hungry previously, his mouth watered immediately at the sight of the food.

One pot chicken with rice, mushrooms and peas.

"Did you cook it?" - Sam asked, and you noticed the excitement in his voice.

"No, Santa Claus did." - you replied, without looking up from your phone.

"I've noticed the sarcasm and choose to ignore it."

"Notice the fork in there too, and don't ignore that. Start eating, as I've said before, I don't have all day."

"Why did you bring me food?" Sam asked the million dollar question.

Finally, you looked up from your phone and looked him in the eye.

"I've noticed that you've lost weight."

Sam frowned and looked down at himself.

"I've asked Lucas about your work, and he told me that in the last few months you were looking more and more tired. Last week was the first time when I actually saw that you became thinner. So I put two and two together and figured that you might not eating as you should because of the stress. And since you seem quite fond of my food, I thought I bring you lunch." - you finished nonchalantly as you turned back to your phone.

When you noticed that Sam didn't start eating, you looked at him again. He was staring at you in a strange way, with his mouth slightly open.

"I'm not asking for money in return, don't get your panties in a twist." - you said, and continued playing.

That wasn't the reason why he was staring at you. What you did was really kind. The longer he had known you, the more he started to realize that your whole 'I don't care about anything and I can do what I want' facade was just an act you like to put out there for others to see and actually you're a really caring and kind person.

First he didn't know how Serena can put up with your ass all the time, and why your sisters and Lucas were so fond of you. Everytime he ran into you, you were wearing a scowl on your face, you were flipping him the bird or just simply called him an asshole for some minor inconvinience.

But the more time he spends in your presence the more clear it gets: it’s just an act for people to leave you alone.

He didn't know why you were like that, but seeing you make his son happy and experienceing this caring side of you himself were making up for the times when you were rude to him before.

Also, now he knew why you were always sizeing him when you two met in the last few days.

"Wow, I... I don't know what to say."

"A simple thank you will be enough."

"Thank you." - Sam said sincerely.

You gave him a soft smile, which caught Sam off guard. He could say he never saw you smile like that. There wasn't michief in your eyes, there wasn't a playful twinkle, or any other innuendo. There was just a soft smile, and a pair of kind eyes looking at him, and he had to admit that they made the girl in front of him pretty.

This realization caught Sam off guard so much, that he felt his cheeks became hot and his lips twitched into a shy, awkward smile.

"And maybe a raise?"

Boom. There goes the magic.

The playful shine was back in your eyes and your soft smile curled into a teasing grin.

"No." - Sam answered immediately while his eyes narrowed.

Hearing his answer, you've mimicked his expression, and for a few seconds you stared down each other, until both of you started chuckling at the same time.

"Don't get used to this, though, next month we're gonna start renovating the kitchen." - you said when Sam finally started eating.

"Oh? So your boss is indeed paying you well."

"Iiiiiiiii didn't say that."

"If he doesn't pay you well you wouldn't be able to renovate the kitchen."

Sam saw your cute pout as you were staring at your phone's screen, just before you answered:

"Shut up and eat."

When he laughed, you couldn't fight the smile that broke out on your face.

"You're laughing now, but I will get that raise out of you, don't you worry."

"Can't wait to see you try." - Sam answered as he put a forkful of food in his mouth.

His blush was back on his cheeks when you sent him a playful wink.


	7. Chapter 7

You've left Sam's office with a smile and waved to Linda on your way to the elevator. So you've noticed that Sam wasn't that bad like you had thought earlier, and? Nothing to it. What if he's actually kinda fun to hang out with? Life goes on. What if you've noticed that small tattoo poking out of his shirt on his neck? Yeah, sexy, but you saw sexy men before. You saw handsome men before...

"Ugh, I'm just being horny. Not for him, just in general. Yeah, that's it, I'll probably eyefuck the first person who I see after I leave the building." - you said to yourself during the elevator ride.

And when you did exit, the first person you saw was a man, dressed in fine business clothes who had the same posture just like Sam. And you immediately rolled your eyes at the way he carried himself.

Was Sam walking like this too? With his chin held high and looking like he owned the place?

Well, probably, you can't quite remember, since in the last few weeks you were always too busy staring at his ass...

Wait, what?!

You stopped in the middle of the street with wide eyes.

No, no way, Sam is 'The Rich Asshole' you do not swoon over rich assholes. Maybe it's just the way his Armani suit hugs his...

"Fuck this, I gotta feed Pillow." - you growled to yourself and ran after the bus which just stopped by the bus stop on the other side of the road.

Later that day you were playing soccer with Lucas in their backyard, and smiled when he dribbled the ball through you with a trick you had taught him.

He had shown great improvement, both with tricks and kicks, and you hoped he had gained enough confidence to participate in the trainings.

"So what are you gonna do the day after tomorrow?" - you asked him.

"Uh, go to school?"

"After."

"Come home with you?"

"Nope."

Lucas stopped with the ball and looked up at you.

"You're not gonna pick me up?"

"Well, I'm gonna pick you up. After your training." - you said with a sly grin.

Lucas' eyes widened a bit.

"What?"

"Lucas, we've been training for almost a month now, five days a week, 2 hours a day, and let me tell you: it shows. You're so much better than when we've started, you can kick the target, you can dribble the ball without tangling your feet, and you can do basic tricks now. Sure, you're not a world classic yet, but I think you're ready to join the others in the training."

Lucas' gaze slowly wandered from your eyes to the ground and then to the ball which was under his right foot and nodded.

"Wow, you don't look too excited, kid." - you said in a joking manner, but you knew something was bothering him.

"No, I am. I just... forget it." - he said as he passed you the ball.

"Uhm, no, I don't forget it. What's wrong?" - you asked leaving the ball and walking closer to him.

You could tell he was feeling uncomfortable because his eyes were looking everywhere except you.

"Does... Does that mean you're not gonna train me anymore?"

"Well, not necessarily, I mean, I taught you everything I know, but we can always practice if you want to." - you replied.

"Do you want to?"

Finally, Lucas looked into your eyes, and his gaze was so vulnerable it almost made your heart crack.

"Okay... What's wrong?" - you asked him seriously.

During the last month this boy had succesfully wormed his way into your heart, and you started to care for him just as much as you were caring for your adopted sisters. You've spent a lot of time together, every day after you helped him train, and your sisters helped him with his homework, you hang out and watched movies, played videogames or played with Pillow.

You were aware that the time you've spent together affected him too, but you didn't know why he was looking sad now.

"You're not gonna leave like the others, right?"

Your face went completely blank for a second, then when the realization hit you, you reached out and pulled Lucas into a hug.

"Of course not, silly." - when you've felt how strongly he was hugging you, you put your cheek on the top of his head, pulling him closer. - "You're not gonna get rid of me that easily. We've made a deal, remember?" - you said in a joking manner, but just as you said those words, you felt as he tensed up and pulled away from you.

"Right. The deal." - you saw as his eyes started to turn red and well up with tears.

"Lucas..."

Whatever he wanted to say, he gulped the words down and stormed into the house.

"Fuck." - you sighed before you followed him.

"Lucas!" - you called out when you heard him ran up the stairs, but your only answer was the slamming of his door.

You went after him and knocked on it.

"Lucas?"

When he didn't reply, you continued.

"I didn't mean it like that, okay? You're not just a deal. What we're doing is not just a deal. It started out as that, but it grew into much more. And I know you've noticed it, and I want you to know too that I've noticed it too, okay? I'm not gonna leave like the others. And I'm not gonna leave like your mom. As much as it seems like it, I'm not a materialistic bitch who only cares about what she can gain from a situation like certain people. Yeah, I was referring to your mom. I'm not gonna apologize for calling her a bitch. She is for leaving you and your dad. She is for acting like she cared and then just left like it was the easiest decision of her life. It happened to me too you know. Well, she didn't left, more like the judge decided it was best for me if she didn't raise me anymore. But my mom could've fight for me. Put down the bottle and say 'fuck it, I want my daughter', but she didn't. I'm not like that, okay? I'm not here because of the money. Not anymore. I've promised I'm gonna train you until you become a football star, and I'm gonna keep that promise. I've promised I'm gonna help you with school, and I'm gonna keep that promise. I've also promised I'm gonna teach you how to beat the shit out of your bullies and I'm gonna keep that promise. But talking to your door is starting to get on my nerves and I swear to God, if you don't open this door now, I'm gonna kick it open and beat your ass with it."

You've waited a few seconds, and finally, you heard as Lucas unlocked it. As he opened it slowly it revealed his red eyes and wet cheeks.

"I'm sorry about your mom." - he said in a raspy voice.

"Don't be. God knows where would I be if I was still with her. I'm sorry about yours."

"Don't be. You're right. She's a bitch for leaving us, then fly to a fancy country to make another family with a richer man."

"Sons of bitches unite?" - you asked with a smile and raised your hand.

"You're a girl, you can't be a son."

You rolled your eyes.

"You're gonna high five me or not?"

One corner of his lip curled up, and you smiled how similar that little smirk was to his father's. It was cute. Lucas high fived you, then you came up with an idea.

"I know I'm gonna be a bad influence now, but how about we ditch your homework today and we go to a soccer match?"

Lucas' eyes widened in excitement.

"What?!"

"It's just a small local club playing against another small club, so I'm sure we can still buy tickets. I know it's not much, but I think we should go and maybe you can learn something?"

"Are you kidding me? That's awesome! I've never been to a soccer match before!" - he yelled excited and ran to his drawer, opening it and looking inside.

"When do we leave? What should I wear?" - he asked with a big smile as he looked at you, and your heart melted at seeing him this happy.

"Calm down, kid, it's not the Paris Fashion Week, you can wear anything you want."

Lucas giggled and started to look for something comfortable but cool looking.

"We're gonna leave in half an hour, I go and change too, okay? I'll be back in a bit."

Once home, you told your sisters that they don't have to come over to Lucas to help him this time, and told Serena that you're gonna take Lucas on a game.

"Did you ask Sam?"

"Why should I? Does it matter if I watch Lucas at their place or somewhere else?"

Serena gave you a 'you know I'm right' look, and you sighed.

"Okay, I'll send him a message."

"Ask him on the phone."

"And what if he says I can't take him?"

"That's why you should ask! God, Y/N..." - Serena rolled her eyes.

"Nope, Lucas is super excited, I'm not gonna let him ruin it."

"I told you that you should give the man more credit, I'm sure he'll be happy to hear that his son is happy."

You groaned.

"Grrr, okay, fine! FINNNE!" - you yelled as you whipped out your phone and dialed Sam.

"Y/N, I'm not gonna give you a raise." - was the first thing Sam said after he had picked up.

You heard his smile in his voice, which immediately brought one to yours.

"Are you sure? Because I just have the best idea!"

"I doubt it, but go on."

"Wow, you know how to make a woman feel good, boss."

"Wouldn't you like to find out, huh?"

Your eyes widened as a gasp left you. Sam fucking flirted? Wow.

"Easy there, Mr. Boss Man." - you tried to sound like it didn't affect you. - Don't give this poor gal false hopes."

"I'll try not to." - the sound of his playful voice was really doing things to you.

"Seriously though, I wanna ask you something." - you said.

"Shoot."

There was a long silence from your end, and Sam frowned.

"You still there?"

"Yeah..."

"What do you want to ask?"

Sam heard a big sigh.

"CanItakeLucastoasoccergamenothingseriousjustalocalteamplayingagainstanotheronethere'snotgonnabemuchpeoplethereandwe'regonnabehomebynine?"

Sam couldn't understand a single word you were saying, because you were talking so fast.

"What?"

You eyed Serena who was looking at you skeptically.

"Thanks Boss, you're the best!"

"What?" - was the only thing Sam could ask again before you ended the call.

Jesus, sometimes you were so annoying.

"So he agreed?" - asked Serena.

"Well, he didn't say no." - you smiled at her sweetly.

"Jesus Christ." - she rolled her eyes again and threw her hands in the air.

"Just have my back when he asks, will you?!" - you said as you kissed her on the cheek and left.

"I'm gonna kick her ass one day." - Serena sighed.

Once inside the stadium, while you were searching for your seats, Lucas looked around in awe.

"This is so cool!" - he said excited as he was poising his hotdog and soda in each hand.

The place wasn't full, but there were a lot of people already, some upbeat music was playing to hype up the crowd, and the players were already out on the field warming up.

You looked at Lucas and smiled at his excitement. His eyes were big and he was looking everywhere, taking it all in.

"Do you usually hang out with your dad like this?"

"Well, not really in the past few months. But before that we went hiking in the woods every weekend when the weather was nice, or we went to the zoo, or just to the cinema."

"You're not going anymore because of his work?"

"Yeah. He always seems so tired and I don't even ask him. We still have fun at home though. I managed to get him into videogames."

You let out a surprised laugh.

"Now I would love to see that!"

\-----

Sam opened the door with the biggest yawn in history. When he walked in the livingroom he frowned when he didn't see anybody.

"Y/N? Lucas? I'm home!" - he yelled up the stairs as he took off his suit jacket and loosened his tie.

When there was no answer, he went up the stairs and checked Lucas' room, but it was empty.

"Okay..." - Sam sighed, trying not to freak out.

There wasn't a case in the last 11 years when his son wasn't home by the time Sam was.

He pulled out his phone and dialed your number, but you didn't pick up.

He let out a frustrated sigh.

"Sure, it's only your boss and the father of the child you just kidnapped, don't pick up."

He decided to go over to your house, maybe you were hanging out there?

When Serena opened the door with the biggest smile on her face which he ever saw, Sam couldn't help but calm down a little and smile back.

"Hey Sam!"

"Hey, Serena. Is Lucas here?"

"Uh, no."

Sam nodded and pursed his lips.

"Do you know where he and Y/N is?"

"Uh, yes." - she answered with a nervous smile.

When she didn't continue, Sam lifted his eyebrows.

"And that would beee..." - Sam started and gestured for her to continue.

"At the socccer game?" - she replied, while her smile turned into a not so honest one.

"What?!" - Sam asked loudly as his eyes widened.

"I thought you knew it, Y/N asked you!"

"What?! When?!"

"Afternoon on the phone! I heard her say "thanks boss, you're the best"! You let her take him!"

Sam looked in front of himself, trying to remember the conversation.

"I didn't even understand what she said she was speaking so fast!"

"Yeah, that's Y/N for you. She only let's you hear the things she wants you to hear." - Serena rolled her eyes.

"What should I do now?" - Sam asked, with a slight panic in his voice.

Serena looked at him in a funny way.

"Uh... Go and enjoy a quiet night at home?"

"What?! My son is out there, doing God knows what, God knows where, with God knows who...!"

Serena reached out and guided a panicking Sam into the house.

"Okay, first of all. Yes, your son is out there, but I just told you where and what he's doing. He's in the stadium, enjoying a soccer game, which he was super excited for. And he's with Y/N, and trust me, she's not a serial killer." - she said as he sat Sam down at the kitchen table.

"Okay." - Sam said quietly, as he nodeed. - “It's just... He was always home when I was, and I was the only one who took him out. Ever."

Serena smiled.

"I understand that it must be difficult, but Lucas is getting bigger, and soon he's gonna go out alone."

"Dear God." - Sam rubbed his face with a groan.

"Coffee?"

"Yes, please."

After Serena put two cups on the table, she sat down in front of Sam.

"Y/N takes the girls out all the time, she can keep an eye on Lucas, don't worry."

Sam nodded and forced a smile.

"It just still bugs me that she didn't ask me."

"I told her to call you. She said that when she told Lucas where she wants to take him, he was super excited and she was afraid you're not gonna let him go."

"Why wouldn't I?" - he frowned.

"Sam, when I told you where they are you almost fainted."

Sam sighed.

"It's still weird that he's not home."

"Lucas is a good boy, and he's with an adult, everything's gonna be fine. At least you don't have to go through the things I had to, after I adopted Y/N."

Sam smiled a little.

"I bet she was a rebel."

"How did you know?" - Serena asked faking surprise, then both of them chuckled.

"How old was she when you adopted her?"

"Twelve. But I know her since she was ten. She had a pretty rough childhood, alcoholic mother, drug addict father, the whole package..." - Serena sighed, and Sam's brows furrowed as he listened to her. - "She never really had anyone care for her, so when I took her in, she didn't really know what to do with my love. There was a lot of time when I've finsihed making dinner and went to her room to ask her to come to eat and she wasn't there. She was only 12 and there were times she wasn't home until midnight or 1 in the morning."

"Jesus. Where was she?" - Sam asked as he leaned closer.

"Most of the times she was with her friends, and she told their parents I ler her stay there for a sleepover. Then when she got bored she decided to come home. Can you imagine a child walking around the city at night alone? God, I don't know how I've survived the stress."

"I can't even imagine how that must've felt. And here I am, freaking out because Lucas is in a soccer game with his nanny."

Serena smiled and patted Sam's shoulder.

"Just imagine when he gets older and goes clubbimg with his friends."

"Not on my watch."

"Oh, he's not gonna ask you, don't worry."

Sam chuckled and shook his head.

"I'm being overprotective, am I?"

"Just a tiny bit." - Serena joked.

\-----

"This was the coolest thing ever!" - Lucas yelled, as you guided him out of the stadium to the streets.

There was quite a crowd as everybody was leaving through the doors, so you were holding his hand the whole time.

You couldn't help but laugh at his enthusiasm, he was talking like you just took him to the world cup.

While you were walking to the bus stop, he didn't shut up about the tricks and kicks and goals of the match, and you were more than happy to listen to his excited rant.

"Seriously Y/N, thank you!" - he said loudly as he hugged you.

A warm chuckle escaped you as you squeezed him close to you. This kid was really the sweetest boy ever.

"You're welcome, Lucas. Maybe we should do this more often, huh?"

"Can we?!" - he looked up at you with hopeful eyes.

"Well, if your dad is not gonna beat me to death after we go home."

"He won't, I defend you." - Lucas said as he put his head back on your chest.

"Oh, a presonal bodyguard, sounds nice." - you rubbed his back, then you pulled away. - "Hey, talking about beating, I haven't show you how to defend yourself if those assholes at school are bullying you again."

Lucas stepped back and looked up at you.

"First rule: what I'm about to show you, you can only use to defend yourself. You never hit first okay?"

"Okay."

"All right, so if you wanna block a hit, you put your hands up like this." - you lifted your arms like a boxer who is defending his face.

Lucas mimicked you and you readjusted his posture to get it right.

"Okay cool. So if you see that they're about to strike, you close the gap to defend your face." - you pulled your forearms together in front of your face and Lucas mimicked you.

"Good. And right after you blocked it, you strike." - you lowered your arms and fisted your hands, putting one leg forward and hitting the air forcefully.

Lucas tried to copy it, but it came out really weak.

"Okay, Rocky, I'll show you." - you stepped in front of him and helped him where to put his feet. - "Fighting stance." - he lifted his fists just how you showed him. - "Now hit my palm." - you lifted it up to be eye level with him.

Lucas' eyes widened.

"What?"

"Hit my palm as hard as you can."

"I don't wanna hurt you!"

"You're not gonna hurt me, Tyson, just aim for the palm and hit it hard."

Lucas let out a sigh.

"Okay." - he licked his lips and positioned his weight from one foot the other a few times then shot his right fist out, aiming for your palm.

Only to completely miss and hit you right in the nose.

Both of you cried out, you because you realized that when you told him to hit hard, he really meant it, and Lucas because his hand hurt like hell.

"Shit Y/N, I'm so sorry!" - Lucas said as he shook his hand, the pain going dumb in it, and slowly fading.

Which can't be said of your nose. When you removed your hand from your face and saw the blood, you groaned.

"Oh my God, you're bleeding!"

"Thanks, I haven't noticed, really." - you groaned. - "You broke my nose, you savage!"

"Well, I mean... It was your idea..."

"MY IDEA WAS FOR YOU TO PUNCH MY HAND NOT TO BREAK MY NOSE!"

"I SAID I'M SORRY! WHAT DID YOU EXPECT FROM SOMEONE WHO COULDN'T EVEN KICK A BALL WITHOUT FALLING ON HIS ASS?!"

Suddenly you burst out laughing, while the tears were still falling from your eyes. The people around you looked at you like you were a lunatic: histerically laughing while your whole nose and chin were covered in blood.

"What's so funny?!" - Lucas yelled.

"You really suck at every possible sport there is, huh? First soccer, and now boxing. Remind me to not play darts with you before you make me blind."

First, Lucas looked at you like you were crazy, but then he started laughing too.

You pulled out a few tissues, and Lucas helped you clean most of the blood off your face, then soon the bus arrived and when you sat down you sighed.

"Your dad is really gonna beat my ass now."


	8. Chapter 8

You were walking home hand in hand with Lucas, and when you saw that Sam's car was in front if his house, but none of the lamps were turned on inside, your eyes shot to your house on the other side of the road.

"Uh-oh." 

As you walked closer, you saw through the window that both Serena and Sam were sitting at the kitchen table and your eyes widened when you saw that Pillow was sitting on Sam. A grown ass Husky was sitting in Sam's lap and looking over his shoulder, being petted like a fucking lap-dog. When Pillow saw you she howled and wiggled her tail, squirming out of Sam's arms.

"Whoa, what's gotten into her?" - Sam asked as he let her jump off from him.

"Y/N's close." - Serena said and stood up, walking to the door, Sam following close behind.

When he looked down at his clothes, he saw that his expensive suit was full of dog hair.

"Great."

"Hey dad!" - Lucas waved at him with a big smile.

When Sam saw that his child was safe and sound he let out a sigh of relief and smiled as he walked closer. When he noticed the two of you holding hands, his heart did a familiar jump in his chest like when he saw you caressing his son’s hair while he was asleep. He rubbed his chest, and smirked at you, however it soon faded when he noticed your bloody face and a tissue sticking out of your nose.

"What in the earth had happened to your face?!" - Serena yelled and ran to you.

"Jesus, what the hell happened, are you okay?" - Sam asked as he pulled Lucas away from you, so Serena can examine you.

"Never better." - you said in a nasal voice, because your nose and the area around it swelled up.

"Fuck, it's broken! Were you in a fight?!"

You pulled the piece of tissue out of your nose and you were relieved that there was only dried blood on it.

"Not really."

"Y/N, stop screwing around, what the hell happened?" - Sam demanded and when you looked at him, you saw that he was close to get really pissed off.

"I punch..." - Lucas started, but you quickly cut him off.

"Okay, so we went to the game, right? Everything was fine and dandy, we had a great time, right Lucas?" - when everyone looked at Lucas and he nodded, you continued. - "So after we were coming out, there was a huge crowd and well, you know you can drink beers there, and some guys had a few more than they should, they started fighting and I was too close to one of them."

"You always find trouble, don't you?" - Serena commented.

"You know me."

"And for some insane reason you thought that bringing Lucas to a place full of drunk brutes was a good idea?!"

"Hey! Not everyone was drunk!" - you argued.

"Y/N, I'm serius right now, you didn't even ask me, and you...!"

"Well, I did ask you."

"FOR GOD'S SAKE WOULD YOU JUST SHUT UP FOR A FUCKING MINUTE?!" - Sam shouted suddenly and everybody froze.

Jesus, he was scary when he was angry.

"What if it's not you who they hit, but Lucas?! He could've been seriously injured, and in the hospital right now, and I wouldn't even know about it!"

"But he's not injured, or do you see any fucking injuries on him?!

"That's not the point!"

"That is exactly the point! I kept him safe! That's my job to watch after him and I did, you can't yell at me for doing my job right!"

"If you'd have did your job right you wouldn't look like a goddamn MMA fighter after a lost match!"

"STOP YELLING!" - Lucas shouted, and it was loud enough to make both Sam and you to shut up, but you were glaring at one another like you were ready to pounce at the first given opportunity. - "I punched her, okay?!"

At that, all three adult heads snapped to him.

"What?" - Sam asked, seriously confused.

"Lucas..." - you warned.

"There wasn't any fight, we were walking to the bus stop and Y/N said she shows me how to defend myself if there was one, and when she asked me to punch her palm I accidentally punched her in the face."

After the first shock, Serena snorted, but when Sam's head snapped to her she cleared her throat and stopped laughing.

"Is that true?" - Sam asked as he looked at you.

You pursed your lips, looking guilty.

"Nooo, I don't teach kids how to fight, especially not minors, because that would be dumb as fuck, right Lucas?" - you looked at him with narrowed eyes.

His eyes widened and he gulped big when he realized that maybe he just got you into a bigger trouble than what you were originally in.

Sam let out a humorless laugh.

"I can't believe it, you always manage to top yourself, don't you?!"

"That's my superpower."

"YOU'RE TEACHING MY KID HOW TO FIGHT ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!"

"DON'T FUCKING YELL AT ME...!"

"OF COURSE I YELL AT YOU, WHAT ELSE ARE YOU TEACHING MY CHILD, HOW TO SELL DRUGS?!"

"Sam, you seriusly need to get off my ass, and talk to your son, okay?! Why do you think I'm teaching him how to defend himself, huh?! Maybe because he needs it!"

"Why on earth would he need it?!"

"Because his fucking classmates are fucking harassing him that's why!" - you shouted in his face, and finally he backed off a little, then he looked at Lucas.

He didn't need confirmation when he saw the tears in his son's eyes.

"Lucas..." - he reached out to him, but Lucas slapped his hand away and started running to their house.

"Lucas!" - you yelled after him, and he turned around.

"WHY DID YOU TELL HIM? IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE OUR SECRET!" - he shouted, then continued running.

You felt as your eyes well up with tears again, but this time it wasn't because of your nose.

You looked at Sam and when your features hardened he opened his mouth, but you lifted one of your hands to shut him up.

"Don't talk to me. Talk to him. Just ask him where the watch is that you got him for his birthday."

"He lost it." - Sam said confused.

"No." - you answered as you started walking to the house, but stopped next to him and looked at him. - "He didn't."

Sam and Serena watched as you went into the house and Sam felt as his throat tightened when he heard you sniffle. He watched as you softly caressed Pillow's head and she followed you when you walked up the stairs.

When he couldn't see you anymore, Sam looked at Serena who gave him a sympathetic look, and patted his shoulder reassuringly. Sam sighed, then nodded and walked to his own house.

He went to his son's room and knocked on his door, and when he heard his crying, he wanted to go in but it was locked.

"Lucas, please open the door." - he pleaded.

When there was no answer and he still didn't open it, Sam went in his own room, grabbed a paper clip from the pile of documents he had on his nightstand table, the walked back to his son's room and picked the lock.

When he opened the door, Lucas sat up in his bed and looked at him with teary, but angry eyes.

"It was locked for a reason!"

"I don't care. All I care about is if you're okay. And you're not. Why didn't you tell me that you are bullied in school?" - Sam asked as he walked to Lucas' bed and sat on it.

Lucas remained silent and only fidgeted with his hands.

"Let me rephrase the question: why do you talk about this stuff with Y/N, but not with me?"

Lucas looked at his dad with guilt, then his gaze focused on his hands again.

"She saw me. When I was bullied. That's why you got a call from the principle. She told them to fuck off."

Sam closed his eyes with a sigh. So basically you protected his son and took the blame when he scolded you for the call from the school.

"Who are they?"

"Some of my classmates. Assholes." - Lucas answered as he wiped his eyes.

He stopped crying when Sam entered the room, but there were still tears in his eyes.

"And why are they bullying you?"

"Mainly because I suck at soccer. Well, according to Y/N only sucked."

"What do you mean?" - Sam asked with a frown.

"Dad? Don't be angry, okay?"

Sam put his hand on Lucas' shoulder and rubbed it reassuringly.

"Never, Lucas. I just want you to be honest with me."

"I don't go to the trainings. The coach thinks I suck too. But Y/N is training me here. After we come home. And when her sisters come home too, they help me with my Math homework. If I haven't copied Jon during tests, I would have failed all of them. But Naomi and Lily are great help. And thanks to Y/N I can finally hit a target and not kick the ball into outer space. Today after the match she wanted to teach me how to punch, because one time Timothy punched me too and that was when I've "lost my watch". He took it."

Sam couldn't believe what he was hearing. All of this went on without him having a clue?!

Lucas was not participting in the trainings in his school. He was failing math, and he was punched and robbed?

What kind of a parent was he that he haven't noticed anything?!

"I... I don't even know what to say."

"Dad, please! You promised you won't be mad!" - Lucas pleaded as he grabbed his dad's forearm.

"I'm... I'm not mad Lucas... Of course not. I'm just... dissapointed. But not in you. But in myself. I had no idea. Why didn't you tell me any of this?"

"I didn't want to seem as a failure."

"You're not a failure, Lucas! Just because you need help it doesn't make you a failure. I'm just shocked I've never noticed that something was wrong. I'm sorry, kid." - Sam said as he hugged his son.

"It's okay, dad. You have your own problems too." - Lucas hugged him back.

"They shouldn't be more important than yours."

For a few minutes they held each other, then Sam pulled away.

"So... does this mean I'm not only paying Y/n to play videogames?"

Lucas laughed at his dad's question and Sam smiled that he was finally seeing him happy.

"Do you want me to speak to someone about those kids?" - he asked after a while.

"No. I can handle them."

"Violence is not the answer Lucas."

"They're not just bullying me. A lot of kids are afraid of them. Did you run to your parents when you had problems with someone?"

"Well, no."

"Exactly. Let me handle this, dad. I have to do this on my own, okay?"

"With the little help of a certain someone?"

"Maybe."

Sam sighed with a roll of his eyes, but there was a small smile on his face.

"This is gonna end in a disaster, I just know it." - he said as he stood up.

"If Y/N is involved then you can bet it will." - Lucas smirked.

Sam laughed as he walked to the door.

"I'm gonna call her, then we can watch a movie if you want, your pick." - he said with a wink as he pulled out his phone.

"Dad? Please don't be mad at her." - Lucas pleaded. - "She's my best friend."

Sam's heart did a small jump at his son's confession. How could he be mad at you? You were helping Lucas to be a better player, to be better at maths and you're making him happy. Okay, you also wanted to teach him how to fight, which he didn't like, but if Lucas was really bullied in school, he should be able to defend himself. After all, what parent would want to see their child being beaten up by some asshole classmates?

He sure as hell didn't.

"I'm... I'm not mad at her... i was just... confused. I didn't want to yell at her. I was an idiot for not listening first."

"Tell her that." - Lucas smiled.

"That I'm an idiot? Oh, she'll love to hear that." - Sam grumbled, making his son laugh.


	9. Chapter 9

After Serena put your nose back painfully to it's normal place, you took a warm, much needed bath. It wasn't the first time it was broken, and the other time it was much more severe, since it was a fully grown man who hit you. You knew this time you only needed painkillers and ice for it. Hopefully no one would be able to tell it was broken after it healed. When it happened for the first time the doctor told you that you were lucky that it broke in a way that was repairable in a way that it won't show. Although, you noticed that when you get cold, your left nostril get stuffed much more easily.

After you finished, you walked back down to the kitchen to get ice, frozen beans or anything that could help you with the swelling.

"Sam called you." - Serena said as she pointed to your phone which was on the kitchen table while she sipped her tea.

"Fuck him." - you grumbled and reached in the freezer, pulling out the ice cube tray.

You picked out some of the ice cubes and put them in a dish towel, then lifted it to your nose, moaning at the uncomfortable feeling.

"I'm sure he didn't mean the things he said."

"Don't care, fuck him."

Serena sighed, put her cup down and pointed towards the window, and following her finger, you could see Sam's house.

"The man was freaking out when he came here looking for Lucas. If you wouldn't be an annoying little shit, and talk to him like he was the man who hired you, and mind you: pays you very well, and wouldn't treat him like some "rich asshole" as you like to call him, then maybe he wouldn't had go off on you like that!"

When you remained silent and just stared in front of you like a pouting child, Serena continued.

"You know he was right, you didn't dare to tell him where you're taking Lucas, just because you were afraid he might say no and you'll come across as a liar to the boy. But guess what? Sam has every right to say no, Lucas is his kid, and if he doesn't want him to go to a place he deems unsafe, then he can say so! You're not mad at him, you're mad at yourself because you ran your mouth before using your head! Again! And now Lucas is mad at you because you just had to be the hot-headed little shit you like to be, telling Sam off, spilling Lucas' secret intentionally, to save you ass!"

When you still were just sitting there, face buried into the pack of ice, Serena walked to you, gently grabbed your wrist and pulled it away from your face. When he say your teary eyes, she leaned down and hugged you.

You let the ice slip from your fingers as the first sob escaped you and you wrapped your arms around your step mom, whom you loved more than your biological one.

"He hates me." - you cried into her chest.

"No one hates you, baby. You helped him so much in these past few months, you were a friend to him when no one else was there for him. You did good." - she said softly as she caressed your hair.

"But I fucked up." - you sniffled, but instantly regretted it, when it sent a searing pain over your whole nose, making you groan.

"Well, that's something I can't deny." - Serena let go of you and handed you a handkerchief, and while you tried to clean your nose, she gave you a glass of water and another painkiller. - "But it won't stop Lucas from loving you." - she said with a soft smile.

You returned her gaze with wide, surprised eyes.

"Y/N, that kid adores you, you could probably set all of his toys on fire and he would still forgive you."

You remembered back to all the times when you were together and he laughed at a joke you said, looked at you in awe after you complimented him because of something he did, and hugged you with all his strenght as of saying 'thank you'.

"Well, I wouldn't be so sure about that." - you smiled finally, the memories calming you down.

Serena chuckled, but both of you jumped when there was a knock on the door. Serena hurried to the kitchen window and looked out, eyes widening when she saw Sam staring at the door as he waited for someone to open it. She quickly pulled her head back, and mouthed 'Sam' to you while pointing to the door.

You froze.

Is he gonna give you another lecture because of what you did? Is he gonna say that Lucas hates you now and you're fired? The thought make your heart stop for a second, not because of the possibility of losing the income, but because of losing the opportunity to see them.

You loved Lucas, and as much as you hated to admit it, you started to like Sam. He was funny and a great father to Lucas, who only seemed grumpy in the past because he was working hard and was stressed out.

"What should I do?!" - you mouthed to Serena with clear panic on your face.

"Open the door!" - she whisper shouted and pointed towards it.

You shook your head no, and Serena hurried past you when there was a second knock.

"Good night and good luck." - she whispered as she walked upstairs.

"Shit." - you cursed, running your hand along your hair, trying to make yourself look acceptable.

Since when did you care how you looked?

And it didn't really matter how your hair looked, since your puffy nose and the light purple marks under your eyes demanded all the attention, right?

You took a deep breath in, trying to calm yourself down, and walked to the door. When you opened it and Sam looked at you he winced at the sight.

"That bad, huh?" - you tried to joke with a shrug of your shoulder.

"At least I know he can defend himself when needed be."

You laughed at his remark, but put your hands above your nose with a groan when it throbbed painfully at the action.

Sam winced again and put his hand on your lower back, guiding you into the kitchen.

"I'm sorry." - he said as he helped you sit down and pulled the other chair closer to you as he sat on it, grabbing the pack of ice from the table and gently holding it to your nose.

You froze at the action and looked at him, while you awkwardly held you hands mid-air.

His eyes were studiyng your face and he used his other hand to tuck a strand of hair out of your eyes and behind your ear.

"That's better huh?" - he asked in a quiet voice.

"Yeah." - you answered, still unable to figure out why he was so nice to you.

He was sitting facing you, while you were facing the table, and his legs were spread apart, so he could sit closer to you. The inside of his right knee was touching your right knee and you licked your lips when you realized you could feel the heat of his body.

"Why were you crying?" - he asked you making you freeze.

He must have heard your sobs when you walked into the house.

Sam saw as your face hardened under the pack of ice.

"I don't know if you'd noticed, but my nose is broken." - you answered.

Sam took in a deep breath and his jaw tightened. You were trying to hide behind your walls again. Even now when he was trying to show you that he is not mad at you.

He reached up again with his other hand and caressed the side of your head, watching as his fingers smoothed your hair.

"No." - he said simply, implicating that he didn't believe you.

Your nostrils flared as you let out an irritated sigh. He shouldn't read you like an open book. No one else did. It took Serena a lot of time to be able to do that, and even that Sam was convinced that you were a stuck up bitch before, now it seemed like he could see through the act.

"I was afraid that you would fire me."

You felt as Sam tensed up again.

He was getting tired of you lying to him. All he wanted was that you were honest with him. Even if for just this once.

He gently pushed your hair back from your neck, and this time when he talked, you could feel his warm breath on your skin.

"No."

Goosebumps appeared where his breath tickled your skin and when he looked up from your neck to your eyes, he could see them welling up with tears.

"He can't stand me now." - you said in a whisper, because you were sure your voice would break.

When the first teardrop escaped your eyes, Sam dropped the pack of ice to the table, wrapped both of his arms around you and pulled you into his chest.

Hearing the first sob, he closed his eyes, and put his chin on the top of your head, as you pulled your legs up to the chair, and curled into a little ball in his arms.

"That's not true. You two have a special bond. He loves you, more than you think." - Sam said quietly as he caressed your back.

And I know you love him just as much. - he added in his head.  
"How do you know?" - you asked with a small hiccup.

"He told me so. He said you're his best friend."

He felt as you stiffened under his arms, and after a few seconds you asked:

"You're not just saying that to make me feel better?"

"No." - Sam smiled.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

You sighed and moved your arms from your chest to circle them around his waist and Sam hugged you more tightly.

"I'm sorry for yelling." - he murmured.

"I'm sorry for not telling the truth."

Sam nodded against your head and for a while you just sat there in the kitchen, holding each other, until Sam broke the silence.

"Y/N?"

"Hmmm?"

"Do you think..." - Sam cleared his throat and took in a deep breath. - "Do you think I'm a bad father?"

Your brows furrowed at the question, then when you heard his voice crack, you pulled away to look at him. He looked away in hopes you won't see the tears in his eyes.

"Of course not, Sam! Why would you even ask that?"

Sam shook his head and wiped his eyes with one of his thumbs.

"It's just... I wanted to be someone who he can trust and talk to, and I thought I was, but then today I found out he is struggling with school, he doesn't go to his trainings and he is bullied by his classmates. I mean... How could I be so blind? I haven't even noticed that something might be wrong!"

"Hey!" - you said softly as you grabbed one of his hand in both of yours and squeezed it. - "That doesn't make you a bad father, okay? Hell, if you knew half the shit I was doing or going through without mom having any clue of it, you would get a stroke." - you laughed lightly.

"Serena might've said a few things about that."

You nodded slowly.

"The reason I haven't told her all that stuff wasn't because I didn't trust her."

Sam looked at you finally and you caressed his knuckles, making him squeeze your hands in return.

"I didn't want to disappoint her. She worked so hard to be able to care for me properly and I didn't want her know I'm a fuckup. Lucas and I talk about you a lot, you know. He adores you and looks up at you as a role model. He can see that you're successful and he wants to be the same, but he's struggling with it."

Sam ran his other hand through his hair and forced himself to stop his tears. Lucas told him the same earlier, but Sam wasn't sure if it was the real reason or his son just wanted to comfort him. Hearing that it was true made him relieved that his son was indeed trusting him, but also made him worried that maybe he puts too much pressure on Lucas' shoulders.

"You're a great dad, I can see by the way Lucas looks at you." - you reassured him with a smile.

Sam smiled back at you, then it turned into a smirk.

"You're not just saying that to make me feel better?"

"No." - you chuckled lightly.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

You two smiled at each other, then after a few seconds you've realized that you were still holding his hand. You looked down and let go of it, then awkwardly patted his knee.

"Well, it's getting late, you have work tomorrow." - you said as you stood up.

"Yeah, uh, I should go." - Sam stood up too. - "Sorry for coming over this late, I just wanted to talk to you."

"I'm glad you did." - you smiled up at him then followed him out of the kitchen.

"So, uh... I guess I see you tomorrow?" - Sam asked as he walked through the door then turned back to look at you.

"Yeah, if you can guarantee that your son is not gonna break anymore bones in my body.” - you answered with a teasing smirk, leaning against the doorframe.

"Well, I mean, unless you ask him to.” - Sam grinned, making you groan.

“You guys will never gonna let me live it down, will you?”

“Nope.” - he winked.

“Goodnight, jerk.” - you started closing the door.

“Sweet dreams, Y/N.” - Sam smiled mischievously, making you bite your lip to hide your smile.


End file.
